Mumbai: MHADA begins issuing notices to housing societies for recovery of dues

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority has begun issuing notices to cooperative housing societies for non-payment of service charges worth Rs 341 crore. The action comes after tenants continued to defer paying service charges to MHADA; this had been happening for the past decade. Flat-owners are served notices every year for non-payment.

The MHADA officials confirmed having prepared a database to list the number of societies which had failed to pay the service charges. “There are a total 2697 housing societies and at least 4882 buildings in the city.

The number of societies that failed to pay the said amount is yet to be ascertained. We have begun the process of issuing notices to these societies,” said a senior MHADA official. The outstanding dues have to be paid to the Revenue Recovery Certificate department of Mhada and it is then forwarded to the collector’s office. “Outstanding service charges include property, water and electricity taxes of the 1.83 lakh flat owners in the 89 layouts of Mhada,” added the official.

If the bills are not cleared by March this year, Mhada will seek to freeze the tenant’s bank account in the Collector’s office. As per Section 180 of the Mhada Act, the collector has the power to seize the tenant’s bank accounts. The MHADA officials confirmed the payment being made by them annually till date (between 1998 and 2017) in order to avoid any action against the residents.