Maharashtra’s Sahakar Samwad portal resolves 80% of complaints against housing societies; ensures transparency, faster action

PUNE: State cooperation department's Sahakar Samwad portal was launched last year to settle grievances filed against housing societies and now stands at a success rate of 80%, which is resolution of as many as 7,470 complaints out of 9,243.RR Rao was troubled after his housing society overcharged maintenance fees, and he logged a complaint on the portal. Within three months, the managing committee received a notice, the deputy registrar scheduled a meeting and the dispute was settled. "I am a senior citizen and it would have been impossible for me to do the rounds of the deputy registrar offices. I was able to file my complaint online and my society took cognisance of it," he told TOI.

Rao's case is among 9,243 grievances filed on the portal since its full launch last year.A cooperation department official said, "As many as 7,470 complaints out of 9,243 have been closed, 1,692 are active and 81 are in progress. We have received a good response, as about 80% of cases have been resolved."The portal covers 23 categories of complaints - the most common being denial of membership and maintenance disputes.

Officials said the online mechanism has significantly reduced footfall at the deputy registrar offices.A recent upgrade allows two-way communication between complainants and society managing committees before scheduling a final offline hearing. "An effective complaint redressal system ensures timely hearings and disposal of cases," state cooperation commissioner Deepak Taware told TOI.The system has worked smoothly for society members like Seema Mohan, who complained about delays in annual general meetings.

"The registrar's office issued notices to our society on time and the meeting was held without further ado," she added.The Maharashtra State Housing Federation (MSHF) launched the Sahakar Samwad initiative in association with the cooperation, marketing and textiles department. It is a "transformative step to ensure transparency, accountability and speedy redressal of grievances," said Shreeprasad Parab, MSHF expert director."The portal strengthens participatory governance and curtails arbitrariness by providing a structured online mechanism to present complaints before the registrar," Parab added.A member of the state cooperation department said, "It requires the registrar authority to issue interim directions within seven days for matters outside their jurisdiction. In cases of membership appeals, applicants must approach the society first. If dissatisfied, they can file an appeal before the registrar, who must respond within 15 days. Directions must be issued within seven days if clarifications are needed from the society.

Complaints should be disposed of within two months."The divisional joint registrar has supervisory powers to ensure that the SOP guidelines are followed.