Redevelopment now mainstream in Maharashtra, but disputes on the rise

With over 125 lakh cooperative housing societies and 2 lakh apartment associations in Maharashtra and nearly 30 per cent of the housing stock either undergoing or eligible for redevelopment the process has moved from being an exception to becoming the mainstream housing solution However disputes are increasing and existing legal remedies have not kept paceWhile MahaRERA has been useful it does not cover most redevelopmentrelated conflicts and itself faces rising delays and backlogs To address this the Maharashtra State Housing Federation has proposed a new independent Redevelopment Dispute Resolution Authority to ensure fair and timely resolutionsWith more than 6000 such cases pending in the high court and many more in lower courts faster justice is vital Advocate Shreeprasad Parab confirmed the urgent need for reforms ldquoThe legal redress mechanisms remain outdated fragmented and illequipped to deal with the scale and urgency of redevelopment issuesrdquo said ParabCrisis for societiesldquoTime and again housing societies face litigation dragging on for 10 to 15 years halting construction and leaving members forced to live in rented homes or in extreme cases on the streetsrdquo said Parab He added ldquoThough the civil court system is robust it lacks mechanisms for urgent intervention in communityimpacting timesensitive disputesrdquoSince 2007 residents were out of their houses and now they have opted for selfredevelopment after winning the SC case PICSBY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTCiting an example Parab said ldquoTilak Safalya Cooperative Housing Society Ltd a modest MHADAlayout society in Tilak Nagar Chembur signed a redevelopment agreement in 2007 but spent over a decade in litigation from arbitration to the Honrsquoble Supreme Court regaining rights only in 2018rdquoFragmented frameworkAccording to Advocate Parab redevelopment disputes sit at the crossroads of multiple overlapping laws and regulations including Cooperative Law under the MCS Act 1960 contract law the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act MOFA RERA DCPR 2034 and various municipal building regulations making it a complex area that demands a specialised forum to harmonise these domains in a housingspecific communitysensitive contextLimitations of MahaRERAContrary to common belief MahaRERArsquos jurisdiction primarily covers homebuyer versus developer disputes and only marginally extends to unregistered redevelopment projects However disputes between societies and developers particularly during the preregistration stage or in cases lacking majority consent fall outside MahaRERArsquos purviewCA Ramesh Prabhu founder chairman of the Maharashtra Society Welfare Association MahaSeWA said ldquoRedevelopment or selfredevelopment is not specifically mentioned in the RERA Real Estate Regulation and Development Act Since it does not come under the current provisions the responsibility lies with the Central Government to bring suitable amendments Unfortunately such amendments usually take several years especially those involving stalled redevelopment projectsrdquoPrabhu further highlighted the mounting workload on MahaRERA Since its establishment in 2017 it has received 30953 complaints 23895 resolved and 7058 still pending With about 3000 complaints disposed of annually and 4000 new filings each year resolution timelines could easily extend to 3ndash4 yearsPoor executionPrabhu pointed to another major issue ldquoEven after complaints are disposed of execution of RERA orders remains extremely weak barely 10 per cent These cases are referred to the collector or the city civil court under Section 40 of RERA but groundlevel enforcement is poor Disposing of a complaint does not mean the problem is resolvedrdquo ldquoAs a result many matters escalate to the high court where prolonged litigation often influenced by financially and legally powerful developers further delays justice leaving genuine society members without effective reliefrdquo Prabhu saidDispute resolution authorityBoth Prabhu and Parab stressed the urgent need for statelevel intervention ldquoIt is the State Governmentrsquos responsibility to provide relief safeguard residentsrsquo interests and ensure MahaRERA is not overburdenedrdquo said PrabhuHe added that the government must create an independent Redevelopment Dispute Resolution Authority dedicated solely to redevelopment and selfredevelopment Such a body would protect middleclass homeowners expedite disputes uphold the Right to Shelter Article 21 and Right to Property Article 300A and advance cooperative justice under Article 43B restoring public faith in redevelopment