Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government was planning to start a single-window system for clearances of housing projects going for redevelopment and implement the self-redevelopment order issued in September 2019 when he was the chief minister.
Of the around 1.20 lakh registered cooperative societies and over 80,000 apartments, nearly 60,000 units are over 30 years old and likely to go for redevelopment.
Fadnavis told TOI on Monday that the single-window system will commence soon. “This will help 30-year-old societies to start work on self-redevelopment,” he said. The single-window system was part of the order issued by Fadnavis when he was the chief minister in 2019.
In October, too, he had said that the earlier order issued in 2019 would be implemented in letter and spirit as demanded by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Housing Federation (MSCHF).
The government resolution issued in September 2019 on self-redevelopment of housing societies has remained on paper, members of the federation said. Suhas Patwardhan, vice-president, MSCHF, said that they had been seeking an easier process as they wanted the issue related to funding of these societies to be addressed.
The state federation directors are planning to meet Fadnavis and request him to implement the order dated September 13, 2019, which offers benefits to cooperative housing societies opting for self-redevelopment vis-a-vis additional floor space index and TDR benefits, reduction in interest rate on loan and a single-window system.
Advocate Shreeprasad Parab, expert director, MSCHF, said that self-redevelopment of housing societies was the need of the hour to provide affordable housing in cities like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and the rest of Maharashtra.
“Self-redevelopment will help members of housing societies in not only getting bigger flats but also in choosing the latest amenities,” he said. Under the single-window system, once the developer or the society submits the plan or proposal online, it is scrutinised for any lacuna or discrepancies, which can then be corrected. The single-window system will help in paying the required fees to a single department, which will be linked to other departments.
“The above system will provide transparency, fairness, a system of good governance, ease of doing business and speedy development of a city along with protection of citizens’ fundamental right to a clean environment,” he added.