Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), which sold out about 3,121 houses via lottery schemes in the last three years — 2016, 2017, 2018 — is yet to obtain the occupancy certificates (OCs) for its 1,440 houses, informed an official.
Due to pending OCs, the winners of most of these houses are yet to take the possession. Interestingly, in May last year, the MHADA had accorded the status of a ‘Planning Authority’ by the state to facilitate the speedy implementation of affordable housing schemes and cut down on red-tapism. Despite this, it has failed to deliver the flat’s possession on time.
However, an official asserted, “Unlike earlier, the process of obtaining OCs has become easy, as the MHADA itself is sanctioning the documents. The number of lottery houses without OCs has reduced in recent time.”
Meanwhile, the authority is planning not to conduct a draw of lottery of houses before obtaining the OC. The reason being, as per the MHADA rule, the possession of houses cannot be given to any of the homebuyers until it has an OC clearance.
Upset with the MHADA’s slow house distribution, a winner has expressed his anger. A Mumbai-based family, who bagged three separate houses in the 2018 Mumbai MHADA lottery draw, too, has not been handed the keys of their houses to date.
Requesting confidentiality, the winner said, “The authority is still in the process of documentation and the houses, which I won are still under-construction.
Moreover, I do not feel after seeing the progress of under-construction houses by the authority at a snail’s pace I would get the possession of my flats even in the next two years.”
The winner bagged three houses. Of the three units, he has already surrendered one to MHADA, as per the policy. The other two houses, located in Kandivali and Antop Hill, are in the middle and lower income group category schemes are under-construction, he informed.
In Mumbai with housing prices already skyrocketing, common people find MHADA houses as the only hope to own a dream home at an affordable price. Thus, lakhs of interested homebuyers apply for the Mumbai MHADA housing lottery held every year.
As per a trend, in 2018, the MHADA had received 1.64 lakh applications for just 1,395 houses. While in 2017, over a lakh applications were received for only 819 houses. Likewise in 2016, too, more than a lakh applicants had tried their luck for just 910 housing units.
