India, Aug. 20 -- Nearly 16 years after the Adarsh Housing Society scam surfaced, the Maharashtra government has decided to lift the ban on allotting government land to cooperative housing societies by introducing a fresh policy that replaces the lottery system with direct auctions.

Under the proposed policy, government land will be auctioned to housing societies through a technical and financial bidding process, with the society offering the highest bid being selected. The base price will be fixed at 2.5% of the land's market value in Mumbai city and its suburbs, and at 5% elsewhere in the state.

The draft policy was approved by state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday. It will now be placed before chief minister De...