The proposal asks for four FSI within 500 mt of the Metro corridors and 200 mt of the BRT corridors. However, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) report, the sale of four FSI along just half the length of the Metro corridor (1/2 of 31.5 km) will yield Rs 18,900 crores, while the cost of metro is expected to be much lesser.

Addressing media persons on Thursday, Congress leader and leader of opposition in the Pune Municipal Corporation Aba Bagul said that the hike in FSI will lead to overcrowding in these areas through vertical development of residential and commercial constructions. “The PMC will not be able to provide basic amenities like drinking water, solid waste management, sewage treatment to this spurt in population. It will be an injustice to the Pune residents and hence we oppose it,” Bagul said. He added that the current traffic situation is also bad and the four FSI will increase density leading to congestion.

As far as generating funds are concerned, Bagul suggested the PMC must look for subsidies from the Union government and other measures to generate income. In August 2008, for self-financing the project, the civic body had proposed to raise money for metro through additional FSI, which was welcomed by the state government.

Earlier, various voluntary organisations had opposed four FSI for various reasons. On of them had pointed out that developed cities like Hong Kong and New York, where the metro rails runs successfully, have population density of 6,000 per sq km and 10,000 per sq km respectively. Against this, Pune already has a population density of 14,000 per sq km even much higher at 21,000 per sq km in 80 of the 144 civic wards. An Additional FSI will only increase the density, which is not needed at all.