Every lottery has reservation for legislators. The 300 flats were announced for legislators not hailing from MMR if they don't have a house in Mumbai. FACING OPPOSITION over its decision to provide 300 houses of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority to legislators at Goregaon, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has clarified that the houses are only for those legislators who do not have an accommodation of their own.
MHADA sells its houses via a lottery and in this case, legislators outside Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) were to get confirmed allotments. After criticism, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said these flats will be given only to those legislators who do not have a Mumbai flat in their name or in that of their spouses, and that this figure may be as low as 30.
Housing minister Jitendra Awhad said these houses were not free and legislators will have to pay land and construction costs.
Raju Patil, the lone MLA of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, said, “Why should MLAs get MHADA houses? Each legislator gets a salary of around Rs 3.5 lakh. Instead [of this], the government must give 200 units of power free to every household.”
MHADA flats are for public housing and sold by a lottery at subsidised rates. Every lottery has reservation for legislators. The 300 flats were announced for legislators not hailing from MMR if they don’t have a house in Mumbai.
The BJP said they did not approve of flats for legislators and money should be given to MSRTC workers and farmers. BJP state chief Chandrakant Patil said, “The government feels that MLAs may desert them and hence they are giving them sops. The local area development fund for legislators was increase from Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore per year. Many of us have houses in Mumbai.”
State Congress working president Praniti Shinde said she didn’t want the house. In 2008, MHADA had given 188 flats to legislators at its prime housing scheme at Versova. Back then, housing secretary Gautam Chatterjee had opposed the move as MHADA houses are meant for common people.
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