Deepak Taware, the commissioner of cooperation and registrar of cooperative societies, said that a 10-member committee convened another meeting with stakeholders on Thursday. He mentioned that a few more meetings would be held before compiling the suggestions and sending the final draft to the state government.

The committee, led by Taware, was established by the department on June 7 to review the Act due to demands from housing societies for changes to the long-standing legislation. Maharashtra has over one lakh buildings registered under this Act, with Pune district alone having more than 15,000.

Taware noted that once the department submits its report, the state will publish it in the gazette and invite public suggestions and objections.

Last month, a citizens' group from Pune requested the state to launch an online portal for registering all apartments and to ensure that suggestions are sought from all stakeholders regarding the proposed amendment. On August 30, housing federations sent a letter to the cooperation department asking for a structured phase-wise planning process to ensure that suggestions reach the state government.

The state had called for suggestions approximately two months ago, and officials reported receiving over 150 suggestions in August alone. Taware mentioned that a significant number of these suggestions pertained to maintenance, a complaint portal, and land transfer issues. He added that the department also plans to study the apartment regulations of other states before finalizing the draft.

Enacted in 1970, the apartment Act empowers the housing department to address grievances from apartment associations and their members. However, following the 2020 amendment, the cooperation department has been granted limited authority to handle complaints. While a deed of declaration is registered by builders with the sub-registrar, neither department maintains a record of these, leading to a lack of essential information about the number of registered and unregistered, as well as functional and dysfunctional, apartment associations in Maharashtra. This information is crucial for amending the Act.

The committee has emphasized the need for a more inclusive approach, advocating for the launch of an online portal to gather information and design a format for the public to submit their recommendations.