Citizens' groups have called on the state cooperation department to establish an online portal for registering all apartments, similar to those used for cooperative housing societies. This portal would enable members to suggest amendments to the Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act, 1970. A letter requesting this was sent to the state cooperation department on 30 August, following the department's call for suggestions on changes to the Act. Officials reported receiving over 150 suggestions in the past month, primarily from Pune, Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur. These suggestions are expected to be reviewed and submitted to the state government by the end of September, after discussions with all stakeholders.
Deepak Taware, the state cooperation commissioner and registrar of housing societies, informed TOI that the suggestions received mainly addressed issues related to maintenance, a complaint portal, and land transfer. He added that the department plans to review apartment acts from other states before finalising the proposal. Taware, who is leading a 10-member committee to review the feedback, stated that suggestions would be considered and that another meeting with stakeholders would be held before the final draft is sent to the state government.
The collective of citizens' groups, known as Citizens for Area Sabha, which focuses on policy advocacy and civic governance issues, raised these demands. One of its members, Ravindra Sinha, commented that while the initiative to seek suggestions was positive, there was a need for greater representation. He questioned how a committee could provide meaningful recommendations without adequate information on the number of registered, non-registered, functional, or dysfunctional apartment associations. The letter to the state cooperation commissioner argued that without first-hand feedback from the beneficiaries of the proposed amendments, meaningful recommendations could not be achieved.
The Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat also submitted recommendations highlighting various issues related to apartment deeds. Although the Apartment Act falls under the department of housing, the 2020 amendment granted the department of cooperation limited authority to address grievances of apartment associations and their members. The deed of declaration is registered by the builder with the sub-registrar, but there are no records of this with either the department of housing or the department of cooperation. As a result, the state lacks essential information about the number of registered, non-registered, functional, or dysfunctional apartment associations in Maharashtra, which is crucial for amending the Act.
In their letter, the members advocated for a more inclusive approach, including the creation of an online portal to gather information about apartments in the state. They also recommended that the state collate this information, notify district deputy registrars, and provide apartment associations with the necessary documents to formulate their recommendations regarding the Act. Additionally, they suggested implementing rules to allow the migration of apartment associations to cooperative housing societies.
