Pravin Darekar Announces Self-Redevelopment Drive for Mumbai Housing Societies
A major campaign aimed at promoting the self-redevelopment of housing societies will soon be launched across Mumbai, BJP group leader and Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank chairman MLA Pravin Darekar announced on Sunday.
Speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Anant Tapasya Cooperative Housing Society in Borivali West, Darekar said that self-redevelopment is steadily gaining momentum across the city. He noted that ongoing efforts are focused on ensuring that more housing societies receive the necessary support to undertake redevelopment independently without relying on private developers.
Darekar highlighted that housing and the cooperative sector have been central priorities in his public work. Following his appointment as chairman of the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank, he introduced a dedicated policy to extend financial loans directly to cooperative housing societies opting for self-redevelopment. He said he had apprised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the importance of the initiative, after which the Maharashtra state government approved 18 decisions to facilitate and support self-redevelopment projects.
Providing details on the progress of the scheme, Darekar stated that the bank has received approximately 1,600 proposals to date. Out of these, loans have been sanctioned to 46 housing societies, and nearly 21 to 22 buildings have already been completed, allowing middle-class families to move into larger homes.
The self-redevelopment initiative has also drawn interest outside the state. Darekar shared that a delegation of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from Delhi recently visited Mumbai to study the operational framework. The team reviewed the construction workflow, the availability of funding, and repayment mechanisms to evaluate how Maharashtra's self-redevelopment model could be implemented nationwide.
Darekar added that the bank would continue supporting city infrastructure and community development. He announced plans to set up a housing federation sub-centre at Aarey to serve suburban residents, while a 12-storey Sahakar Bhavan with modern facilities is currently under construction in Sion. He also announced the upcoming Namo Sahakar Taxi scheme, which will provide direct financial and cooperative benefits to local taxi drivers.
