Mumbai's Infrastructure Boom: Making India's Financial Capital Livable

Mumbai has seen an infrastructure boom in the last few months, with the new coastal road Atal Setu and the expanding metro lines. But the feasibility of this development remains in question with increasing traffic and dust pollution.

Development is only going to help with social, cultural, and economic transformation, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who was speaking at the 'Making Mumbai A Liveable, Modern City' event at the Mumbai Press Club on Monday evening.

"We are witnessing a profound transformation in Mumbai city. This visual overhaul is poised to translate into socio-economic progress on a scale comparable to iconic transformations seen in different parts of the world," said Gagrani.

The impact of such infrastructure projects is immeasurable, he said. Using the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as an example, he highlighted that if not for the project, it would have been a huge loss of opportunity and development.

New projects like the Coastal Road and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link are "poised to fundamentally transform the real estate market within the next decade," according to him. It is paramount to understand the public's acceptance of these projects and devise long-term maintenance strategies, he said.

While growth in infrastructure has been fast-paced, the durability of these projects has gone down. "The durability is reducing because there is no quality control. If that is improved, then the durability will grow," said retired IAS officer RC Sinha.

Navi Mumbai was made as a counter-magnet to share the load on Mumbai. There is a need for more cities like Navi Mumbai across the country as urbanisation continues, Sinha said.

The existing green cover remains a life-saving ecological infrastructure, according to Mumbai-based architect PK Das. If we count the ecology as an infrastructure and grow it, then we will be able to save people who die due to climate change, he said.

“Rising temperatures in Mumbai have created a heat island effect, significantly impacting the city’s liveability,” he said. This doesn't just impact the mental and physical health of Mumbaikars but also has an adverse impact on the city's economy, Das said.