Urban redevelopment plans for Mumbai, India's largest city

As India's economy booms and Mumbai becomes a major Asian financial center, property there is increasingly scarce and costly. Property values in south Mumbai, for example, have risen 10% to 40% during the past 12 months, and could rise 5% this year, according to Macquarie Securities.

The "only way to generate land and create space for new commercial expansion of the city, is to clear these slums," says S. Sriniwasan, chief executive of Mumbai-based Kotak Real Estate Fund.