More transparent byelaws for housing societies this week
The 60,000 housing societies in the Maharashtra will soon have to enforce a set of regulations on various aspects ranging from employment of underage children to having in place a tailor-made disaster management plan.
The co-operatives commissioner is expected to issue amended byelaws for co-operative housing societies all over the state this week. The byelaws will clarify issues pertaining to rights and duties of housing society members, set penalties in case of violations and ensure more transparency in the proceedings of societies.
The byelaws put the onus on the society when it comes to reporting instances of child labour. In case underage children are employed as maids and servants by members, the society is expected to inform the police, social organisations or the labor commissioner. Under the Child Labour Act, 1986, a member can be slapped with a fine of Rs 20,000 or face up to one year in prison for violations.
Each society is also expected to prepare a detailed disaster management plan with a risk profile of the housing society, a list of important phone numbers required during emergencies, a response mechanism and evacuation plan. In the light of frequent squabbles between society member when it comes to redevelopment, the byelaws stress on the need for regular structural audits and the necessity of redevelopment if need be.
In order to ensure transparency in most transactions, the byelaws state that amounts above Rs 1,500 should be by account payee cheque only. Moreover pending society dues can be recovered even from the legal heirs of the residents. Also the maximum penalty on erring members cannot exceed Rs 1,000.
There have been instances where due to personal grudges, members are slapped with a hefty fine of say Rs 1 lakh. Though the member usually doesnt bother paying up, it can be a hurdle if he wishes to sell his flat or mortgage it for a bank loan. The byelaws will rationalise and simplify these and several other concerns which usually end up before the civil courts, said property lawyer Vinod Sampat, adding that the rules were last amended in July 2001. He pointed out that a major loophole of the new byelaws is that it stresses on voluntary compliance of the byelaws by co-operative societies which could make compliance difficult.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/more-transparent-byelaws-for-housing-societies-this-week/727365/