New housing society rules may be out by March-end in Maharashtra

PUNE: Housing societies in the state can expect the new Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society rules by the end of March. These rules are expected to speed up pending redevelopment proposals of old housing societies as well as ensure clarity regarding membership issues for the smooth functioning of these societies.
State housing federation members who were part of several rounds of discussions with the state cooperation department recently confirmed this development. The Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Societies Act (Amended) was introduced in March 2019. However, the rules that were to be introduced within six months were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The framing of rules was essential to implement the Act, said advocate Shreeprasad Parab, who represented the state housing federation in the discussions. While these may be the main benefits, there are several other provisions that will be included in the rules once it is published by the state government, he added.
"The last meeting held in the presence of cooperation department officials and members of the federation had agreed that the rules will be published earliest by March 2023 and this will help all these societies as has been demanded by state housing federation since the last four years," said Parab, the expert director of Maharashtra State Housing Federation.
These rules will benefit the 1.25 lakh cooperative housing societies in the state.
A new chapter was added under Section 154B in the Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Societies Act in 2019 to manage housing societies. However, with no rules or guidelines in place for four years, it was difficult to implement the Act, stakeholders have said.
"After the introduction of the provision in the new chapter, members were waiting for the rules that will prescribe the procedure about how to implement the provisions of the new chapter in the Act," Suhas Patwardhan, the vice president of the state housing federation, said.
S Chavan, the chairperson of a society in Pune, added: "The new act has a new chapter with many benefits but its provisions cannot be implemented without the requisite rules. The state housing federation has been following up with the state government to publish the rules at the earliest," said
The rules will help housing societies fulfill their aim to provide amenities and services, Parab said. "There are some beneficial provisions with regards to redevelopment and self-redevelopment, which are likely to be incorporated in the proposed rules," he added.