Frame policy for freehold land, state told

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has directed the state government to come up with a clear policy by September 30 for the conversion of Class II (collector) lands to Class I (freehold) lands. In its September 7 order, the division bench of Justice K R Shriram and Justice N K Gokhale observed they are not happy with the speed at which the decisions are being taken by the government in this regard, primarily when a statement admittedly has been made by the minister on the floor of the House that the premium charges will be reduced to 5%.

There are at least 3,000 cooperative housing societies on the collector’s land in Mumbai and 22,000 in the state. Most of the housing buildings in Mumbai are over 40 years old.

The order pointed out that the petitions for converting the Class II lands to Class I have been filed in 2014 and “in another few months will complete a decade”.