• So when do you see the party stopping? I’m using the language of business channels.

I hope the party stops. We need affordable housing, mass housing.

• So are you saying the prices will come down or they should and will come down?

They should come down. I’ve been saying for the last 18 months that prices will come down. I’ve been proved totally wrong. In fact, my board tells me that you should say that prices will go up and then they will come down. (Laughs)So I’ve been proved totally wrong because the prices have not come done. If you take Bombay, for instance, the huge amount of development that is taking place in the next five years, I don’t see any reason for commercial prices to have to crash. Bombay commercial prices, like Connaught Place, Delhi, are among the costliest in the world.

• And now the development is quite fast.

Development is fast. If you see the amount of construction in Parel area, it is 80 lakh sq ft — 80 lakh sq ft from large mills — small mills I’m not including. Now this is all commercial space. So 80 lakh sq ft of commercial space will be ready for occupation in the next two years. Who is going to take that much space? Bandra-Kurla, MMRDA is auctioning land there, again six to eight developers. A crore and a half square feet has been auctioned already for commercial use. So if you add that, add Dharavi, add Parel, in the commercial space, there will be so much surplus.

... contd.