Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde has assured that a final decision will soon be taken in the state cabinet to reduce the required 10% premium to below 5% for converting land classification from Occupancy Class-2 to Class-1 in Nagari Nivara Housing Colony. The decision will be taken after discussions with the Revenue Minister, he said during a meeting with MP Ravindra Waikar.
A special meeting was held on Monday, July 14, at the legislature office of Deputy CM Shinde to address long-pending issues in the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency. The meeting, attended by MP Waikar and senior officials from various departments, included detailed discussions on several important subjects raised in Waikar’s written representation.
The Nagari Nivara Housing Colony, spread across 62 acres, consists of 113 cooperative housing societies with 6,214 residential flats, around 30,000 residents, and 109 commercial shops. The land was purchased from the government in 1992 at prevailing market rates, as per the notification dated February 1, 1976.
Of the 113 societies, 106 are members of the Nagari Nivara Cooperative Housing Societies Federation. Since 2014, these societies have signed tripartite land agreements with the district collector. As of now, 100 societies are listed as Occupancy Class-2 landholders in the government’s property records.
Due to the Class-2 status, residents face multiple hurdles — including mandatory collector approvals and hefty fees for apartment sales, property transfers, redevelopment permissions, and mortgaging land. Residents also bear high costs: up to 50% of the current market rate as unearned income charges during property transfers, and up to 75% when government permission is granted.
To convert the land to Occupancy Class-1 status, societies are required to pay a premium of ₹1.5 to ₹2 lakh per flat at 10% of the market rate. Given that most residents are from middle-income backgrounds, the Federation has demanded a significant reduction of this premium to just 2%.
MP Ravindra Waikar brought this concern to the attention of the Deputy CM, who responded positively and assured that the matter will be taken up with the Revenue Minister and placed before the cabinet for final approval.
Senior officials present at the meeting included Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department Asim Gupta, MHADA Vice President and MD Sanjeev Jaiswal, BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, SRA CEO Mahendra Kalyankar, Mumbai Suburban Collector, Additional CP Meena, MMRDA Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee, MHADA Mumbai CEO Milind Borikar, and other department heads.
