Mumbai: The demand for affordable homes in Mumbai is very high to the extent, for the latest Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) lottery, there are 213,77 applications for every house that is on sale. Till now, MHADA has received 46,389 applications for 217 houses which are to be sold in the lottery by the Mumbai Board. Out of these, 26,825 applicants have already paid the one time deposit to enrol in the lottery process.
The last deadline is May 24, as it was extended due to the new model code of conduct, officials say, they are likely to receive more applications. These 217 houses are in the categories of lower and middle- income groups (LIG and MIG) and are mainly located in Sahakar Nagar in Chembur and Kopri Village in Powai. MHADA has included 170 LIG and 47 MIG houses for this lottery.
Interested homebuyers must register themselves with MHADA online and make an earnest money deposit (EMD)of Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 for LIG and MIG homes respectively. Only those with an average monthly income between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 can apply for the LIG homes and those with incomes between Rs 50,000 and Rs75,000 can apply for the MIG category.
According to MHADA sources, the authority is also planning to soon start the process of allowing every applicant to make a one-time deposit payment which will enable them to apply for a minimum of 10 houses. This will give them more opportunity to try their luck in the lottery housing scheme.
Currently, the applicant can only apply for one house making deposit payment. However, some MHADA officials this one time payment will deprive them of earning revenue, since with the new proposal it will only be one time payment for every application.
“For every application, a person pays Rs 336 apart from the deposit we want the authority which will stop. Employees of MHADA wants the authority to find different ways to earn revenue so it can sustain and does not face any difficulty in payment of salaries and pensioner,” said an officer.