From Daulat Baugh To Satguru Shlok

"Old housing societies hope to cash in on realty boom "More than 15 housing society redevelopment proposals, mainly in the suburbs, have come up in the past 3 weeks, and the sudden flurry, said a market source , is because residents want to take advantage of the current high property prices. " They do not want to miss the boat once again like they did before the crash in 2008. Housing societies feel this is the right time to redevelop their properties. Certainly, they are in a position in which they can dictate terms to the builders," said a source, who tracks redevelopment propasals in the city." The article mentions societies in Mulund(E), Jogeshwari(W), Kurla(E),Malad(W),Andheri(W),Ghatkopar(E),Borivali(W), Santa Cruz(W), Khar and Bandra who have recently invited proposals and our very own Doulat Baugh has been mentioned!! The term 'redevelopment race' has been rightly used and I ,for one, hope that our society wins this race.... with the bes...

As of now, the process that we had gone through earlier to reach and select Satguru builders has been nullified. The society decided to go the legal way since some of the members were being irrational in their demands and society did not want any obstructions. So the process of planning for redevelopment had to start all over. Society now had its own advocate Mr Shetty, who will advice at every step and also has its own project manager Mr.Shinde, the architect. That done, society then inserted an ad in two local papers, (according to the law) in Hindusthan times and Free Press, inviting the developers to obtain a bid for redevelopment. They are expected to present their project and the feasibility report of the PMC, with a non refundable fee of Rs10,000 by cash or DD favoring the society. There was a good response and there were 16 developers who submitted their proposal in sealed envelops which will be opened in the presence of all society member during the next meeting. F...

Following the legal way, according to 79(A) of the MCS Act 1960  clause 8 was followed. This scope of work initially for the architect/PMC shall be (a) to survey the land and building of the society (b) to get the details of the conveyance(c) to record the FSI of the plot available for the development and TDR/FSI that can be loaded taking into consideration the DC Regulations and other applicable law (d) to prepare workable/practical project report taking into consideration the recommendations/suggestions of the members, the areas of the new flats to be made available to the members, commercial area, vacant area, space for garden, parking, building specifications, etc. Within two months of date of appointment of the architect/PMC, his project report should be submitted to the committee. and the clause 15 The architect/PC should invite competitive bidding from reputed expert and experienced developers and at the time of floating members, either the carpet area or the corpus fund ...

During the meeting this evening, this cutting from the paper was discussed in the meeting Cessed bldgs in island city to get 2.5 FSI Yogesh Naik TNN Mumbai: Cessed buildings in the island city falling under Class C (constructed after 1960) will get the benefit of 2.5 floor space index (FSI). There are 1,270 such buildings. The decision was taken at a meeting held by chief minister Ashok Chavan in Vidhan Bhavan on Thursday. The government will have to make amendments to the development control rules and the Mhada Act as well. There are 16,104 cessed buildings in Mumbai. Of these, 13,307 are in A category, 1,474 are in B category and 1,270 are in C category. At present, the old cessed buildings in category A get 2.5 FSI or they have to accommodate the old residents which form rehabilitation component and get incentives FSI ranging from 50% to 70% of the area rehabilitated, whichever is higher. In case of B Class buildings, the developer does not get much. He has to rehabili...

Every society member has received the ‘Feasibility report of Redevelopment Work’ which is based on information stipulated in development control regulations of 1991. It contains the existing facts of the location of the building, area survey summary, and the development potential giving the all the details of each apartment. The development report of the redevelopment work has been prepared by ‘Cove” architect, Soumitra Shende, for various builders who would be interested in undertaking the proposed re-development project, jotting down the points to be considered while submitting their tenders. More details will be discussed during the meeting.

For those of you who are still wondering why the process is so slow, this is the gentle reminder that society want to proceed as per law “MCS ACT 1960” Today the point 4 was completed that required Five architects/PMCs that are either on the “Government Panel” or “Panel of the local authority” should be short-listed for preparing project report. The architect/PMCs should give quotations of their charges. Members can also suggest, at least eight days prior to the meeting, names) along with quotations of the architects/PMCs, as also suggestions, recommendations for the redevelopment. Society selected Mr. Sumitra Shinde (approved by BMC) whose quotation was approved being the lowest, to be paid in two installments, who will prepare the project report of the building plan. Next step is to put advertisement in the paper TIO for city builders to submit their tenders for re-development plan. Once more, the members of the society were reminded that only authorized members...

I know, I know, it’s been 2 months already since we last had the building meeting although we were promised frequent meetings, but this is India and everything works at their own pace. Some of the members have given up hope of ever getting their building redeveloped. It takes too long. This year, there was too much rain and the situation of the building is getting worse. I don't think any house in the building is spared from damage. There is a big, deep fissure on the wall of block B and is quite deep now and needs serious repairs. Few weeks ago, the balconies of the building, which is at the end of our lane collapsed and the debris is still not cleared. Luckily, no body was hurt. But we are hoping that our building does not meet the same fate. Every time I see the block B, I am scare that it might come tumbling down. I only hope it does not. Anyways, next meeting is on 11th October at 7:30pm to approve and appoint a PMC (Project Management Consultant) as per guidelines f...

If and when our building goes for re-development, we will have to look for a rented apartment for years.....for which there has to be an agreement between lisensor and licensee. It is important to know certain details. The Licensor agreed to give the said flat on Leave and license to the Licensee for the use and occupation of the said Licensee on the terms and condition as detailed hereunder. An Agreement made at Mumbai

Today the meeting was called at 7’30 in the evening and more than 15 members attended the meeting. The main points that were discussed during this meeting was that the managing committee has decided to follow the rules and regulations and will follow to the point as stated in Section 79(A) MCS ACT 1960 so that if there is any litigation problem in future it can be tackled as per law. They have promised us transparency in every matter and have promised to work for the better of the society so that everybody is treated equal. The most important factor to look into right now is to appoint a project management consultant. They have taken the quotation of five architects and are open to suggestions from society members if they wish to recommend any other than the ones that have been narrowed down to five. They plan to appoint an advocate whom the society will pay from society fund who will guide each member during the re-development process. As per law, they made it very clear that o...

Gist of circular dated 03-01-2009 issued by the chief secretary, co-operative and marketing as per section 79(A) of the MCS Act 1960 Note 1: As per section 79 (A) the state government can issue directions and societies are bound to comply with such directions. As per section 79 (A)(3) the registrar can take the action against those persons who are responsible to comply with the directions have failed to do so without any good reason or justification and such actions can be by removal of such person (if he is a committee member) from the committee and appoint any other member as committee member in the place and such disqualified member will be disqualifies for 6 years. Note 2: Some of the wordings are taken verbatim from the English translation of the circular.   At least 1/4th of the members should make a formal request/suggestion for redevelopment.

Before the ball starts rolling the members of the society will be asked to sign an agreement. The agreement should include, besides other suggestions of the architect, the following: The project should be completed within two years and under exceptional circumstances not exceeding three years The developer to give a Bank Guarantee of 20% of the cost of the development project

Early morning I received the circular from society announcing the meeting on Friday 23rd to discuss the redevelopment program. The managing committee has been meeting the builder, discussing the plan, trying to get the best deal for the members. They are thinking of appointing an advocate who will guide every member to safeguard their interest. Every word in the document has a hidden meaning which cannot be seen by unsuspecting member, with advocate’s help we will know the right laws before signing on a dotted line. Then society will also appoint a structural engineer who will supervise over the construction and make sure that the promised faculties are delivered so that there is no compromise on the quality of the building. We have selected Satguru who assured us quality or else there were many builders with better offers, so naturally we would want the best and with our own structural engineer and advocate, we safeguard that interest. There is money in the society which w...

Today we had general body meeting which was attended by sixteen members only. Its funny how members fail to show up for meetings, I have noticed that generally people attend society meeting only if they have a problem which they need to address, otherwise they are happy to ask their neighbors for updates. I don't like to miss the society meetings unless I am travelling, for me it is a social responsibility. Being a member of a society, we have right to information, and right to express our opinion such that the living in the society becomes a pleasant experience. Plus it gives us chance to get to know the members and drop off the veil of alien-like feelings. Anyways, the meeting started twenty minutes late, (waiting for late comers) and all the points on the agenda were discussed one by one.  The nomination forms were available in the society office, few days prior to the meeting, whereby any member desiring to be the part of the committee could send in their applicat...

You must be wondering as to why I started this blog. Well, besides being assured that there is transparency in the system and no doubts/crazy thoughts nibbling our minds, there is surety to follow events as they occur, unfolding the secrets of laws as we face them and learning from each other. For example I came across this query where one person is confused and he needs some help. He asks, “Already the builders have delayed more than 18months for handing over the apartment. What we should do now?” And he gets an reply “In case possession of the flat is not offered to the Buyer within a period, the Buyer shall be entitled to receive compensation.” Any discrepancies relating to money matters not fulfilled by the Builder like rendering accounts for maintenance fund collected, corpus money etc, will tantamount to misappropriation and the best route is to make a criminal complaint. Civil complaint for recovery of money from a builder is something next to impossible. Next is to post bl...

Today when I see kids playing in the small compound, embraced on all sides with kitchen windows, I am reminded of all the good ole days.

I am kind of feeling sad that my building in which I have lived for last thirty years is breathing its last days. I came to this building when I was a teenager and I have some wonderful memories in this building.

It is important to be aware of what is happening around us. we must pay attention to every detail and every discussion that is to take place with the builder. Right now we are the owners of our house, but during redevelopment we have to safeguard our interest. Therefore it is imperative that society members should tread cautiously and firmly in matters of drafting part of the redevelopment agreement (RDA), especially since after signing such an agreement, residents have to vacate the premises and hardly have any control over the project.

The ball is rolling and there are serious discussions now. We voted and selected Satgurus. Yesterday seven members of our society went to talk to Satgurus builder to get the best proposal. The members who went were Mrs Arora, Mr Chainani, Mr Malhota, Mr. Balwani, Mr Punjabi, Mr Thakur, and Mr Amarnani. He has promised to give high class quality building and will send in the details of his proposal in writing within fifteen days. Some of their ongoing projects under Satgurus can be found HERE The letter of consent has already been given to him. Society has enough money to hire their own professional helpers that will include accountants, advocates, and other guidance for checking the materials that will be used by them during construction. It will take around six months to prepare the paper work and all other formalities before we move out. Now we wait in anticipation.

Democratic Voting for the builder Today, the meeting was held in Daulat Baugh office. We had lots of discussions on four builders who had approached us, Kamala, Wadwa, Satgurus, and Supreme. Kamaka’s proposal is very lucrative money wise and is very much tempting with all the amenities that they are offering: park, swimming pool, jogging area, gym etc Satguru’s construction is very classic and he has quality, It is believed that they make very good buildings with best materials that they use, although their monetary offer was the lowest. Wadwa proposal is good too and their financial status in the market is quite stable Supreme construction is good too and we have a ready example building opposite our building. To maintain the transparency, at 12noon we had democratic voting, where each one was given a slip of paper and they had to vote for one builder only. And it was decided that the final decision would be taken on the voting of all those who were present at the...

called Om Sadan, is the beautiful looking building by Supreme builders. I spoke to one of the members who said that an apartment in the building costed her around four crores. Initially there was three story building which now has nine floors. There is one appartment per floor. After giving apartments to the present owners per floor, the rest of the apartments were sold off at market price. Anyways, what that person told me is that she bought the house in four crores and after one year of its occupancy, she has an offer of seven crores. She is planning to sell off and go look for another house and invest the money for comfort. whoop! three crores profit in just one year!!! something to think about.... good enought reason to go for redevelopment. even if you decide to stay in the new apartment for a year and then decide to sell, you still make a good profit Now tell me, in which bank will you make a profit of three crores in just one year??? shouldn't we go for redeve...

I know its summer holidays when I hear the children playing down in the compound. Daulat Baugh had always been a playground for all the kids of the 36th Lane. I have beautiful memories of my childhood in this building and I would never want to go and live elsewhere But now it is 50 years old and it is in a very bad shape. My heart bleeds. We need to decide fast, want renovation or go for redevelopment. Renovation will cost lotsa money, and I am not willing to invest in the building where the renovation might last only for next 5 years and the we will be to back to square one. I am all for redevelopment, for a very special reason that I am not getting younger and find it difficult to climb two stories. Redevelopment means a shiny building with 2 lifts, a modular kitchen and bathroom with touch of class plus extra space of 33 percent. I think it is a good bargain for everybody in the building. A new building will also upgrade the value of the house, since it is in a prime location....

Lets go for a drive......On 11th March 2010 at 730pm, togather we will go to see some presentations of Kamala builder. We have narrowed down to three builders.... Kamala, Satguru and Wadwa.....what do you think????

Perhaps this could be our last Holi Festival celebrations at Daulat Baugh. That’s what each member of this building was hoping, that the re-development plan bite us as soon as some formalities are ironed out. We got together to celebrate the Holi festival in our building compound on 1st March 2010 Surprise! We actually have lot to say to each other but we hardly ever meet except in society meetings where there are more squabbles than discussions. We wanted to meet more often. Now the members who are really compu-savvy are working people, who prefer to get the whiff of fresh air from the tiny window rather than come out and walk around the building snaking through too many parked cars and they expressed the desire to meet on desk-top instead and so started our conversation on Newsletter, an idea of staying in touch online since we hardly ever see each other in the building unless we ring the door bell Which we never do…... So here we are, hopefully to stay connected in our un...