Mumbai, October 31, 2023: In a significant stride towards enhancing the ease of complaint resolution for cooperative housing society members, the state of Maharashtra is all set to introduce an online portal. This portal, hosted on the Maharashtra cooperation website and accessible via the Sahakar Samvad mobile application, will enable members to file complaints conveniently for a nominal fee ranging between Rs 50 to Rs 70. Senior officials from the state’s cooperation department have confirmed that the portal is expected to become operational very soon.
With approximately 1.2 lakh registered housing societies across the state, this online platform is poised to benefit a vast number of residents. The portal currently lists around 23 common issues related to society problems, aiming to streamline the process of complaint registration and resolution.
The demand for an online redressal portal had been voiced by housing society members, and the state’s cooperation officials took action to meet this need. A meeting held earlier this week between senior officials and federation members led to the confirmation of the portal’s readiness. The design and development of the portal were accomplished with the support and expertise of state housing federation members.
Through this portal, housing society members will have the convenience of registering their complaints from the comfort of their homes. Complainants will be required to provide area-wise details, following which their complaints will be directed to the relevant deputy registrar.
Crucially, once a complaint is registered, the concerned official will be obligated to address it within a predefined timeframe, contingent on the nature of the complaint. For matters falling outside the department’s jurisdiction, the complainant will receive guidance to forward or escalate their concern to the appropriate department.
The introduction of this online system is expected not only to facilitate complaint registration but also to empower complainants to monitor the status of their grievances. This innovation responds to the current practice, where over 1500 complaints are filed monthly at deputy registrar offices, primarily from Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik, and Aurangabad. The portal will play a vital role in filtering out complaints unrelated to the department’s purview, thereby reducing the overall workload.
Moreover, the online platform will provide transparency in the complaint resolution process by tracking and displaying the outcome of each complaint, including any orders passed. This transparency is poised to enhance trust and confidence among housing society members.
Mrs. Neha Shine (name changed), a resident of a Vasai housing society, shared her experience of submitting an offline complaint two months ago, expressing her frustration about not knowing the status of her complaint. With the introduction of this online portal, such uncertainties are expected to become a thing of the past, ensuring a more efficient and user-friendly complaint resolution process for housing society members across Maharashtra.
