History of Self-Redevelopment
Under Self redevelopment, the entire redevelopment process is planned, executed and managed by the society members instead of handing over the process to a builder. While this might sound like a new way of redevelopment in Mumbai, this is, in fact the the oldest method of redevelopment.
Yes, it’s true! Self redevelopment is not a new concept. The only difference here is that, initially this DIY method of taking up the mantle of development of a building in their own hands was used more for developing new buildings.
In the 60s, most of the buildings in Mumbai were developed by the society members themselves. They would come together, form a society, arrange the finances by contribution and mortgage, set designs in place, and select contractors to construct the building. These buildings were designed as per the requirements and quality standards set by the members and they still stand tall and distinct due to the efforts and interest taken by the members. It was later when the norms started becoming complex and the process tedious that societies started opting out of this method and builders entered the scene.
History
Today, redevelopment by builders is a commonly known solution. But the model has posed a lot of shortcomings. No standard approach, lack of transparency, exploitation of benefits, fluctuating assurances and inordinate delays in completing the redevelopment project in the agreed time period are the most common shortcomings. Therefore, many property owners and housing socities remain hesitant to adopt this method due to the nightmarish experiences faced by other societies and have felt the need of another way of redevelopment of housing socities where the risks need to be minimized.
Hence, self redevelopment has returned as the safer and better alternative to redevelopment in Mumbai. Also, in order to encourage cooperative housing societies to undertake redevelopment of their building themselves, the government of Maharashtra has launched the Self Redevelopment Scheme 2018 as well as authorized the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd (MDCC Bank) to provide loans for self redevelopment projects.
The wave of self redevelopment is here to stay since people are apprehensive about the efficiency of builder led redevelopment and wish to take their development matters into their own hands.