MUMBAI: The government’s plan of easing the process of redevelopment of housing societies by allowing those that go in for self-redevelopment to get deemed conveyance within a month found no takers in Mumbai and Pune from May-October this year.
A deemed conveyance is a legal document that transfers ownership of land from a developer to a cooperative housing society, allowing it to develop the property further.
Under the policy announced on May 31, a housing society is required to pass a resolution that it will carry out self-redevelopment, following which it can apply for deemed conveyance. As per the new policy, the conveyance deed is to be granted within a month, down from the previous deadline of six months.
But information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that between May and October, 716 applications for deemed conveyance were filed in Mumbai and Pune, but not one of the housing societies opted for the self-redevelopment route. Of the 716 applications filed at the offices of the deputy registrar, 364 were from Mumbai and its suburbs, and the remaining from Pune city and rural.
Salil Rameshchandra, founder-president of Federation of Grantees of Government Land who had filed the RTI application, said the data clearly shows that self-redevelopment is not easy. “There is only one bank—Mumbai District Cooperative Bank —that currently provides loans for self-redevelopment. It can lend up to Rs 200 crore, which would finance about four to five projects. The cap on lending is as per the RBI’s directives,” he said.
He said in a majority of the old buildings that opt for redevelopment, members are elderly or retired individuals who may be unwilling to take up self-redevelopment.
Ramesh Prabhu, secretary, Mumbai Suburban District Federation of Housing Societies, said while government schemes seem good, getting approvals is not easy. “Getting funds for self-redevelopment is a challenge.”
