Navi Mumbai: Controversial cop-town may opt for self-redevelopment

If all goes well the newly elected committee of a police housing project in Vayal Khalapur near Panvel stalled for over a decade will be executing the project through selfdevelopment The aggrieved policemen were victorious in the cooperative housing societyrsquos elections held in October Urban planner Chandrasekhar Prabhu will be guiding the selfdevelopmentSelfdevelopment is where the owners of land residentialcommercial develop it without the help of a developerrdquo said Prabhu The project planned on a 120acre plot that can accommodate 5000 houses is meant for policemen in the lower ranks like constables havildar and naiks It was delayed due to alleged malpractices by retired IPS officers previously involved in the projectHandover of charge awaitedThe newly formed committee is from the lsquoDhyas Swayamvikasacharsquo which translates to quest for selfdevelopment panel led by the policemen The cops in the committee include constables head constables assistant subinspectors and subinspectors both retired and serving The committee claimed that the official handover of charge has not been done by expelled members after they lost the elections on October 8ldquoThree letters have been sent to the cooperative department officials directing them to take possession of the previous committeersquos assets and hand them over to us The previous committee was operating from rented premises in Sanpada We are waiting for the assistant registrar of the cooperative department Khalapur to get possession of the officerdquo said a member of the new committee ldquoWe are seeking guidance from Prabhu and senior bureaucrats who have all agreed to guide and support us Proactive support from all corners can help us build our dream homesrdquo the member added1st selfdevelopment in 1916In an Annual General Meeting AGM on March 31 members of the Brihanmumbai Police Sahakari Gruhnirman Society had unanimously decided to pursue selfdevelopment Welcoming their move Prabhu said ldquoSelfdevelopment has existed for over a century The Saraswat Cooperative Housing Society in Gamdevi was built on this model in 1916 Between 1916 and 1980 most of Mumbairsquos development residential and commercial was by selfdevelopment Cricketers IPS officers and politicians have come up with selfdeveloped towers in and around Mumbai Over 50 buildings in Navi Mumbai including those of IAS and IPS officers were made through selfdevelopmentrdquoExplaining the process of selfdevelopment Prabhu said ldquoProfit earning comes into the picture when developers are hired to develop such huge plots In selfdevelopment the housing society can utilise the additional Floor Space Index FSI by determining the area they would need and allotting the rest to other buyers who would get the area at a discounted price In this way the buyers and policemen will benefit as the policemen do not have shell out more moneyrdquoldquoMoreover the usable FSI today is much more than what it was when the land was procured The housing society can approach prospective buyers like the CIDCO Railways nationalised banks etc who can build the colony for their staff and the policemen thereby making it a winwin situation for allrdquoAdvocate claims delaysAdvocate Siddharth Ingle who represents the policemen claimed delays on the part of the cooperative department He said ldquoIt is unfortunate that the assistant registrar of cooperative department Khalapur for reasons best known to him is delaying the handover to the new committee The new committee needs to take possession of the bank accounts frozen by the cooperative department when the previous committee was expelled to understand the societyrsquos financial situationrdquoIngle added that two portions of land each procured in the name of IPS officers one of whom was also named chief promoter of the project have to be transferred in the name of the housing society ldquoThis process will take time The committee has been elected for a fiveyear tenure This work cannot be done without the support of the cooperative department and state bureaucratsrdquoExpert viewAdvocate Shreeprasad Parab expert director Maharashtra State Housing Federation said ldquoLarge plots have high potential and high cost Housing societies opting for selfdevelopment may struggle in terms of having the right expertise professional management and adequate finance It would help the housing society to follow the law and keep stringent checksrdquoAt the same time selfdevelopment of large plots also offers several benefits Parab added ldquoA major benefit is that the entire profit is indirectly distributed to the existing members through extra carpet area and corpus fund They would also have minimum litigations as there is no third party involved The project can be executed with full adherence to UDCPR Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations Full control of the project also means that members can choose to have green projects or amenities that they prefer Lastly the process strengthens the cooperative movement by generating affordable housing stocks since profit is not the sole motive in such projectsrdquo120Area in acres of project land in Khalapur