The Gujarat High Court upholds the decision authorising the renovation of Vejalpur’s society.

AHMEDABAD: On Monday, a division bench of the Gujarat high court upheld a single judge’s decision to allow the redevelopment of a housing society in the Vejalpur neighborhood because more than 75% of the flat owners had agreed to it and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had also granted permission for new construction.

In the case involving the Swami Vivekanandnagar Cooperative Housing Society, 74 (93%) of the 78 unit owners gave their assent to reconstruction because the structures, which were built in 1969, were in a deteriorated state.

By determining that the requirements for redevelopment under section 41A of the Gujarat Ownership Flats Act were met, the sole judge on June 21, 2022, opened the way for the reconstruction of the society. The lone judge overruled the concerns put forward by the minority of dissenting members.

The society’s members made the decision to pursue renovation in 2019 and entered into an agreement with Excel Life Space LLP. The problem reached the HC after the statute was revised to make it clear that 75% of members must agree to redevelopment because of objections from four members.

The HC instructed the AMC to make a decision regarding the society’s request for redevelopment. If the current structure is demolished and new ones are constructed on the plot, the civic body has given the society authorization to develop the land.

The sole judge had agreed with the majority’s position that, if the redevelopment proposal is approved, everyone will receive a larger home within three years without having to pay anything out of pocket. Since there are so few dissenting votes, section 41A’s condition for redevelopment is satisfied.

The single judge rejected the minority group’s protest and also ordered them to leave their apartments so that the structures might be demolished.