Maharashtra: For housing societies, general body is new boss

In a landmark move to restore democratic control in cooperative housing societies the commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies Maharashtra State Pune has issued a circular dated November 4 2025 affirming the supremacy of the general body in decisions related to redevelopment and selfredevelopmentThe circular effectively scraps the requirement of a No Objection Certificate NOC from the registrar before approving redevelopment projects mdash a bureaucratic hurdle that had delayed thousands of housing projects across the stateThis decision follows the Bombay High Courtrsquos ruling on October 17 in Baltazar Fernandes vs Deputy Registrar Cooperative Societies HWest Ward Mumbai and Others which reinforced that the general bodyrsquos resolutions are final in redevelopment mattersDeepak Taware commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies Maharashtra right CA Ramesh Prabhu founder chairman Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association MahaSEWAThe registrarrsquos role has now been clarified as purely administrative mdash they cannot withhold amend or veto any decisions taken by a societyrsquos general body unless explicitly required by law Any registrar who violates these directives will face disciplinary action by the departmentDeepak Taware Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies State of Maharashtra said ldquoThrough this circular we have granted autonomy to societies Unnecessary interference by registrars will now be curtailedrdquoWhen asked if his office had received any complaints against the registrar He added that while complaints were received by joint registrars in Mumbai and some matters reached the high court his office will soon issue additional circulars to ensure strict compliance and better oversight by registrar and senior officers When asked if this will make redevelopment easier Taware replied in the affirmativeSocieties get power backAdvocate Shreeprasad Parab Expert Director of the Maharashtra State Housing Federation said ldquoThis is a landmark circular It ends years of delay caused by unnecessary NOC requirements The general body is now legally recognised as the ultimate authority on redevelopment mdash not the registrar This promotes transparency strengthens democracy in cooperative housing and ensures projects move ahead fasterrdquoAdvocate Shreeprasad Parab expert director of the Maharashtra State Housing FederationParab added that the move could help ease the burden on the Bombay High Court where over 6000 redevelopmentrelated cases are pending ldquoIt also sets out the principle of the adjudication mechanism with regards to the hierarchy of the judicial systemrdquo he said Redevelopment on trackCA Ramesh Prabhu founder chairman of MahaSEWA said ldquoRequiring an NOC from the registrar only encouraged corruption Developers appointed by the general body faced unnecessary delays as the unmandated NOC was withheld until the registrarrsquos approval The high court has clearly stated that it is the cooperative societyrsquos responsibility to inform the registrar to appoint an official to supervise redevelopment meetings If the registrar fails to do so superior officers should take action based on complaints from societiesWith around 60 cooperative registrars in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR and about 330 across the state each handling nearly 5 to 10 redevelopment NOC proposals every month this move will streamline the process and ease the burden on the common manThe issue of NOCs was discontinued by the government under the lsquoEase of Doing Businessrsquo initiative which was part of the IOD conditions for issuing commencement certificates The High Court has also held in several rulings that directions under Section 79A are not mandatory Since one registrar dismissed a committee for not following Section 79A directions the court has now ordered an inquiry and disciplinary action against the registrar for contempt of court ordersrdquoSix points stated in circularThe Honble High Court has directed this office to issue clear instructions to all Registrars in the state through this circular Accordingly the following instructions are being issued to all Registrars1 Once a proposal for the appointment of an Authorized Officer for a special General Body Meeting GBM for the redevelopment is received the Registrar should appoint the Authorized Officer within 14 days If the Registrar fails to appoint the Authorized Officer within the prescribed period or if the Authorized Officer refuses the appointment disciplinary action may be taken2 The Authorized Officer appointed by the Registrar must attend the special GBM convened for the selection of a developer for the redevelopment ensuring that the quorum for the meeting is complete The Authorized Officer will observe the proceedings of the meeting verify that the video recording minutes voting and resolution records are properly maintained3 The society must submit copies of the notice agenda consent letters from members video recording and minutes of the special GBM for the selection of a developer within 15 days to the Registrarrsquos office where they must be preserved4 As per the provisions of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act the General Body of the society is the supreme decisionmaking body The validity of the special GBM and the decisions made at the meeting will be determined by the Cooperative Court under Section 91 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 If any member raises an objection or disagrees with the decisions made during the redevelopment process they should be informed that they can approach the Cooperative Court for a resolution5 The Registrar should not review amend or veto any decisions taken in the General Body regarding redevelopment6 Registrars in the state should not accept or process any proposals or applications for No Objection regarding redevelopment nor should they take any action in this regard Similarly they should not issue any No Objection or similar letters regarding the redevelopment processldquoAll Registrars must strictly adhere to the instructions mentioned in this circular Officers who violate these instructions will be subject to disciplinary actionrdquo the circular copy with this paper reads