Citizens, represented by the Maharashtra Society Welfare Association (MSWA), are urging the state housing minister, Atul Save, to establish a robust monitoring system for redevelopment projects. Residents in cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane have expressed concerns about the lack of a monitoring mechanism for redevelopment timelines, leading to delays and legal disputes. MSWA has submitted a proposal for a regulatory authority dedicated to overseeing the redevelopment of housing societies, covering private and government structures. They hope the state government addresses this issue in the upcoming housing policy, as existing regulations like RERA do not adequately cover redevelopment projects.
In a recent development, citizens, represented by the Maharashtra Society Welfare Association (MSWA), have called upon the state housing minister, Atul Save, to establish a robust monitoring system for redevelopment projects.
Residents, particularly in cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane, have raised issues regarding the absence of a monitoring mechanism for the timelines of redevelopment of housing societies and penalties for delays in the redevelopment of old structures. This has led residents to resort to legal action. Expressing their unease, MSWA has now submitted a proposal to the minister for the creation of a regulatory authority dedicated to overseeing the redevelopment of housing societies.
Ramesh Prabhu, Chairperson of MSWA, stated that they have approached the state government to institute a regulatory body capable of overseeing not only the redevelopment of housing societies on private land but also structures falling under government, MHADA, SRA, cessed buildings, etc.
Members of the association are hoping that the state government will address this matter in the upcoming housing policy scheduled for release next month.
Despite the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and the establishment of the MahaRERA authority, citizens argue that the act fails to encompass redevelopment. Although RERA is supposed to regulate all real estate-related activities, it does not consider the rights and interests of existing members due to the exemption of redevelopment projects from registration under Section 3(2)(c) of the RERA Act.
While redevelopment activities in the state began in the 1990s with the introduction of the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) for Maharashtra State, there has not been a body dedicated to supervise it. There are numerous redevelopment projects currently stalled at various stages and hence it is a matter of urgency. According to MSWA's letter, such circumstances of delay have caused unrest and anxiety among existing members who have invested their life savings in these projects.