Residential population in south Mumbai on decline

With property rates hitting the sky, the affluent south Mumbai area has witnessed a decline in residential population, while the suburbs have seen a rise, according to Census officials.

And ironically, the population of homeless people in southern part of the metropolis seems to have increased.

“It has been observed that primarily due to rising property rates, the residential population in south Mumbai has gown down. Whereas the residential population in suburbs has seen an increase of about 10-15 per cent,” the officials said.

South Mumbai -- which has upmarket residential colonies as well as important public buildings such as secretariat, Vidhan Bhavan, High Court, etc. -- is fast turning into a commercial hub, officials said.

“The residential population in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) areas such as Vasai, Virar, Palghar, Kalyan, Dombivali and Karjat, has also increased.”

The real estate market in Mumbai continues to remain stagnant as sale transactions are at an all-time low due to the high prices and rising interest rates.

The homeless population has likely increased from the earlier 25,000 to 35,000-40,000, officials said, adding that such people were seen more in A, B and C wards. All the three wards fall in south Mumbai.