State to lift 16-year ban on govt land allotment to hsg socs

Under the proposed policy, government land will be auctioned to housing societies through a technical and financial bidding process, with the society offering the highest bid being selected. The base price will be fixed at 2.5% of the land’s market value in Mumbai city and its suburbs, and at 5% elsewhere in the state

MUMBAI: Nearly 16 years after the Adarsh Housing Society scam surfaced, the Maharashtra government has decided to lift the ban on allotting government land to cooperative housing societies by introducing a fresh policy that replaces the lottery system with direct auctions.

The Adarsh Housing Society scam in 2010 rocked the then Congress-NCP government. (Hindustan Times)

Under the proposed policy, government land will be auctioned to housing societies through a technical and financial bidding process, with the society offering the highest bid being selected. The base price will be fixed at 2.5% of the land’s market value in Mumbai city and its suburbs, and at 5% elsewhere in the state.

The draft policy was approved by state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday. It will now be placed before chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for final approval.

The state government had previously allotted land to cooperative housing societies under government resolutions issued on July 9, 1999, and May 25, 2007. However, the allotment was halted following the Adarsh Housing Society scam in 2010, which rocked the then Congress-NCP government. The controversy eventually led to the resignation of then chief minister Ashok Chavan, who was accused of facilitating the allotment of flats to close relatives in return for favours.

Bawankule said the revised policy has been drafted in view of a petition in the high court filed by the Sanjay Gandhi Cooperative Housing Society in Kolhapur, as well as observations made by the Supreme Court on November 25, 2024.

“Under the new policy, government land will no longer be allotted through the earlier lottery system. Instead, allotments will be made through a direct auction process,” the revenue minister said. District collectors will prepare lists of available government plots, following which auctions will be conducted through technical and financial bids after issuing public advertisements, he added.

The new policy will also end the practice of transferring government land on an ownership basis. Instead, plots will be granted on a 30-year lease, after which they will become eligible for conversion to Occupancy Class-I status, effectively making them freehold.

To ensure representation of different sections of society, the government has proposed category-wise reservations. General category societies will get 40% of the plots, while 15% will be reserved for housing societies of state government, local body and government undertaking employees.

Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Nomadic Tribes (NT) will have a 10% quota, while writers, artists, sportspersons and journalists will also get 10%. Freedom fighters and their heirs, organisations of persons with disabilities and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) will have a 5% quota as will serving and former MPs and MLAs.

Another 5% each will be reserved for central government employees and serving or former armed forces personnel.

In the Adarsh scam, a prime plot in Colaba had been allotted to the Adarsh Housing Society for war widows and defence personnel. However, politicians, bureaucrats and military officers were accused of colluding to subvert rules relating to land ownership, zoning and FSI, to build and corner luxury apartments at below-market rates.