In a bid to put the redevelopment of over 14,500 old and dilapidated cessed buildings on the fast track, the Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday approved new guidelines. The Housing Department will issue fresh norms for developer eligibility and registration. It will be mandatory for the owner/developer to open an escrow account to deposit the 1-year rent of the tenant/resident in advance. Similarly, the owner/developer will also deposit the rent for the remaining period in advance every year till the completion of the project.
As per the guidelines, a vigilance committee will be established to oversee the redevelopment of cessed buildings. The committee will include a new architect appointed by the residents who have given no-objection certificate for redevelopment from the respective buildings.
These Guidelines are aimed to accelerate the redevelopment of properties acquired under clause 103 B of the MHADA Act. The government has fixed a time period of 3 to 5 years for completion of redevelopment.
Housing Minister Dr. Jitndra Awhad told Free Press Journal, “With today’s new guidelines it will be easy for getting no objection certificate for kickstarting the redevelopment of cessed buildings.’’
As reported earlier by the Free Press Journal, the state cabinet on August 12 had cleared the redevelopment of 14,500 cessed buildings that house 35 lakh people in Mumbai City Island. The cabinet had also approved the amendments to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) Act, 1976 to facilitate redevelopment. Some of these buildings are as old as 100 years and are in dilapidated condition. In addition, the redevelopment of 30-year-old buildings is now possible.
As per these amendments, MHADA, after it takes over the projects which are in a partial stage or no work has been started, will be bound to complete the redevelopment within a period of three years from the date of receipt of the Commencement Certificate. The amendments to the MHADA Act are crucial as the redevelopment of many cessed buildings in Mumbai city is stalled, closed, or partially abandoned by the developers. There are also cases of non-payment of rent to the residents or violation of the terms and conditions of the No-Objection Certificate as well as non-compliance by the Corporation with a Section 354 notice.
