In what would boost development in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai, the City & Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO) has amended its building reconstruction policy and has included a provision that the building can be reconstructed with the consent of only 51 per cent of the members of the housing society instead of earlier 100 per cent.
This would pave the way for redevelopment of hundreds of old buildings.
The major decision by the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis comes ahead of the crucial Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) polls. Incidentally, Shinde and Fadnavis hold the portfolios of Urban Development and Housing, respectively.
CIDCO Vice Chairman and Managing Director Dr Sanjay Mukherjee has been working on the reconstruction policy for a long time.
Generally plots are allotted on lease by CIDCO, subject to the provisions of the Navi Mumbai Disposal of Land (Amendment) Regulations, 2008 (earlier, New Bombay Disposal of Land Regulations, 1975).
The lease agreement includes the terms and conditions like obtaining development permission, commencement and completion of construction, extension of construction period, use of plot, service charges etc.
As per the lease agreement, the plot is leased to the Housing Society for a period of 60 years only and CIDCO has ownership rights over the plot and the construction done on it. The housing society needs to obtain prior written permission from CIDCO for demolishing the existing structure and constructing a new building in its place.
“In order to facilitate the faster reconstruction of old buildings on CIDCO plots in Navi Mumbai this policy change is very crucial,” CIDCO officials said.
A separate policy was prepared by CIDCO in the year 2013 regarding reconstruction of buildings. As per this policy, permission of all the members of the co-operative housing society was required for reconstruction of the building.
According to the amended policy, in order to obtain permission for reconstruction of the building, 51 per cent of the total members of the housing society will be required to submit their written consent in the form of an affidavit to CIDCO. Barring this change, the rest of the terms and conditions of the policy will remain the same.