PUNE: Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has gained all-party consensus for a significant overhaul of the stalled redevelopment policy for housing societies on government land.
The proposal will be submitted to the cabinet for final approval, following which a government resolution (GR) will be issued to implement the new framework, an official informed TOI on Friday.
Once approved, the policy is expected to benefit approximately 3,000 housing societies on government land.
Pravin Darekar, chairman of the Maharashtra Housing Cluster/Self-Redevelopment Authority, urged the state to establish a clear, time-sensitive process specifically for societies on government land. He highlighted that countless residents are trapped in unsafe buildings due to the absence of such a framework. “The Darekar committee has expedited the push for a structured redevelopment policy for aging housing societies,” remarked an official who attended the meeting earlier this week.
For decades, around 3,000 societies in Mumbai’s suburbs, including Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Nashik, struggled to redevelop old and often dilapidated structures due to restrictive lease agreements, high premiums, ownership disputes, and numerous bureaucratic hurdles. While more than 25 self-redevelopment projects on private land have progressed, not a single society situated on government land has advanced beyond the approval stage.
The revenue department’s new policy framework, unanimously backed by all parties at the meeting chaired by Bawankule, aims to resolve these long-standing issues. “These reforms will facilitate hundreds of delayed projects, providing a practical and achievable path to redevelopment for societies on government land,” stated Bawankule.
Representatives from the state housing federation indicated that this has been a long-standing demand, and cabinet clearance would enable most societies on government land to pursue redevelopment. Advocate Shreeprasad Parab noted that several prior appeals had been made regarding this issue. “The cabinet should expedite the proposal’s approval,” he urged.
Among the proposed significant changes is the elimination of the PMAY-linked requirement that societies surrender flats to qualify for the reduced 5% fee necessary for converting land tenure from Class II (restricted rights) to Class I (ownership-like rights). Officials pointed out that this condition rendered redevelopment financially unviable for the majority of societies.
The state is expected to extend the December 2025 deadline for converting Class II to Class I, a long-standing demand, as many proposals remain mired in paperwork.
District collectors will be required to address ownership disputes, lease violations, and tenancy challenges within a defined timeframe—obstacles that have historically stalled redevelopment for years. They will likely prioritize lease renewals and the regularization of past breaches for societies choosing self-redevelopment. The draft policy will be distributed to MLAs and MPs in the next 8–10 days before being presented to the cabinet for approval.
