The Maharashtra government took a big decision recently to convert leasehold and class II land into freehold, a move that is expected to benefit more than 3,000 housing societies.

Cutting down on red tape
Most buildings in Mumbai are over 40 years old and in dire need of redevelopment. But most corporative housing societies in Mumbai are on Class II land which belongs to the collector. This can make the redevelopment process quite tedious as society members have to seek the permission of the collector. The conversion process can take years societies get stuck navigating the maze of red tape.

But now, thanks to the government’s decision, housing societies will have the option of getting their land converted to freehold from class II. By doing this the members of the housing societies will become the owners of the land, which in turn will greatly ease the process of redevelopment.

Housing stock in Mumbai set to surge
As a result, nearly 3,000 housing societies are now expected to come forward for redevelopment, greatly increasing the available housing stock in the city. The government is in for a windfall too as it will charge a premium for land conversion. Cooperative Housing Societies are willing to pay between Rs 1 to Rs 100 per sq. feet to get their land converted, so if a society is spread across 22,000 sq. feet, they will be paying anywhere between Rs. 22,000 to Rs 22,00,000 to get their land converted.

There is only one potential drawback to the move. The government has still not decided on the cost of premium. If the government fixes a premium amount that these societies find too expensive, then the process may just get derailed.

Ashwini Priolker, Reporter, NDTV