Officers’ COOPeratives: Bureaucrats can sell flats in open market

[related-post]

The government has also decided to relax the condition of maintaining 20 per cent membership of such colonies for
the economically weaker sections, permitting current owners to sell their houses at market rates to persons from any income group. The state government allots government land to cooperative housing societies at a concessional price based on demand and merit under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.

Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said, “Until now, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers given houses in cooperative housing societies on government land can sell their houses only to other IAS officers. Now, we have decided to relax the rule. Also, it is practically impossible for a person from economically weaker sections to get the true market value of the house if he has to sell it within the same income category, so we have decided to give them a way out.”

The residents will have to first make an attempt to sell the house in the same income category. “If they do not receive adequate response, they will have to approach the district collector for permission to sell it in the open market,” said Khadse. “However, the district collector will have to ensure that the presence of economically weaker sections in these cooperative housing societies,” he added. The state government will levy a transfer fee on all transactions.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com