Mumbai Grahak Panchayat has urged Maharashtra to drop the rule requiring 51% physical attendance to select a redevelopment developer. MGP said the condition conflicts with provisions allowing video attendance and could face legal challenges. It warned societies with members living elsewhere may struggle to meet the requirement, potentially stalling redevelopment of old or dangerous buildings.

Mumbai Grahak Panchayat Opposes 51% Physical Attendance Rule For Developer Selection In Society Redevelopment | AI

Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) has strongly objected and sent a representation to Maharashtra Government urging deletion of the condition mandating physical presence of 51% of members for selection of a developer. MGP says the condition appears to distinguish unfairly between physical and online participants, and could be open to legal challenges.

Physical Attendance Clause Questioned

The objection comes after a recent government resolution (GR) of Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act governing redevelopment of cooperative society buildings. The new GR permits society members to attend Special General Meeting (SGM) for redevelopment through Video Conferencing (VC) which will be counted for quorum 2/3rd for the meeting to commence, however 51% physical attendance is mandatory for selection of the developer, which the MGM says is contradictory.

The representation by MGP dated October 3 addressed to Principal Secretary of Cooperation Department highlights, the mandatory provision of physical presence of at least 51% of the society members is open to objections on grounds including – Violation of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Rules, 2026, allowing online attendance; Illegal Discrimination among on-line and off-line members; and Practical difficulties to ensure physical presence of such large number, which in return will prevent the societies from going ahead with the re-development despite their buildings being very old, dilapidated or in dangerous conditions.

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Three-Developer Scenario Flagged

It also states that it is settled position in law that the guidelines or even the Government Orders cannot be in violation of or inconsistent with the Rules framed under any Act. Therefore the compulsion of 51% members' physical presence is not sustainable in law.

"Many societies may struggle to ensure physical presence of 51% members, where flat owners live elsewhere or have rented out their flats. In such cases, the redevelopment process could become a non-starter," advocate Shirish Deshpande, Chairman of MGM.

Raising another objection, the MGM's representation says that the new guidelines/order dated September 30, 2026 fails to address the situations where there are three developers from which the society SGM has to select one and none of them gets more than 51% votes. "In such situations, we suggest that the guidelines should provide that if no developer secures minimum 51% majority, there shall be a second round of voting in the same SGM to select the one among the first two top ranking Developers," it adds.

"The guideline should provide that even in the second round, if no developer secures 51% clear majority then the Developer securing the highest votes in the 2nd round should be awarded the contract for re-development," Deshpande said.

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