MUMBAI: Any Mumbaikar who has ever bought or rented an apartment, or filled petrol in a car, or even bought groceries at a local store knows this sobering fact: we live in an expensive city. Respondents to The Times Of India-IMRB Quality Of Life Survey in eight mega-cities felt the same way as they rated cost of living in Mumbai as the highest among the eight urban agglomerates.
In the survey, Mumbai scored an abysmal 2 on the cost of living scale, way below cities such as Hyderabad and Ahmedabad that achieved an equal rating of 2.8 and Pune that got a grade of 2.7. Even Bangalore (2.3) and Delhi (2.2) fared better than the financial capital.
Navi Mumbai resident and mother of two Anju Divekar says life is getting increasingly tough here as inflation spirals upward. "The price of everything is rising, though our salaries remain the same. If it is tough for financially secure families like ours to balance children's fees, household necessities and travel costs, imagine the hardships faced by those not so well-to-do ."
Economist Abhay Pethe of the University of Mumbai points out that it is the unreasonably expensive real estate prices that contribute to the high cost of living. Pethe is echoed by economist Vibhuti Patel of SNDT Women's University, who says that steep housing costs are eating into household budgets and leaving a big hole in people's pockets. "Most households have to set aside 50% to 60% of their income for housing, which impacts their budgets phenomenally," she says.
Their observations are confirmed by international surveys. Researches time and again place realty in some of Mumbai's neighbourhoods among the costliest in the world. Meanwhile, other studies, while considering liveability, put the financial capital towards the middle of the big heap considered.
In the Worldwide Cost of Living survey released by global research firm Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in July, it was found that, if housing is left out, Mumbai is the third cheapest among 140 cities in 93 countries. The only cities found cheaper than Mumbai were Karachi in Pakistanand Tunis in Tunisia. The EIU survey analysed a basket of 160 issues, including food, clothing, toiletries, transport and utility bills. It attributed the low cost of living in cities like Mumbai to a mix of weakened currencies, low levels of development, price controls and subsidies on some staple goods.
Economists point out that where items such as food and clothes are concerned, Mumbai has a comprehensive parallel network of informal outlets which offer affordable food and clothing to people across economic strata.
Still, there are things that are not always covered by this network. Eating or drinking out, for instance, has been pushed out of the reach of many Mumbaikars.
At the beginning of this financial year, after the central and state budgets imposed new taxes, the retail price of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) brands went up by 40% to 56% here while beer prices went up by minimum 18% to 49%. The hike, in effect, made the prices of IMFL bottles here about 133% to 233% more than their prices in the neighbouring state of Goa or union territory like Daman-Diu . In bars, pubs and restaurants, the hike was even greater-beyond 75%.
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