India, Sept. 30 -- In a significant decision, the Maharashtra government on Monday constituted a Self-Redevelopment Authority to assist citizens in redeveloping their old buildings themselves instead of handing them over to builders. The move is expected to give a boost to the self-redevelopment of housing societies, especially in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

BJP legislator Pravin Darekar, who also heads the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank, has been appointed president of the Authority. Darekar has been pushing for self-redevelopment of buildings through the bank for quite some time.

The decision came four months after the New Housing Policy was approved by the state cabinet, which envisaged the formation of a ded...