Hope, do not mope, was the message at MHADA Mumbai Board’s allotment of 2,030 homes
One could almost hear the fluttering hearts in the hall as the results were announced. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE
Dreams came true for some while others still need to play the waiting game at MHADA’s Mumbai Board event, which declared the results of a computerised lottery for the sale of flats under different groups at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, on Tuesday morning. There were 1,13,811 eligible applicants for 2,030 homes.
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Dream schemes
Sanjeev Jaiswal MHADA vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) stated, “This is the second time in one year that the lottery has happened in Mumbai.” Jaiswal said to those who did not win the lottery that there was no reason to be disheartened. “We are most probably having a lottery between March and June 2025 once again.”
Valsa Nair-Singh, additional chief secretary of the housing department said, “I am proud to address this audience. This is an auto, non-manual process of lottery… it is absolutely transparent. We hope we can have a lottery every month here.” She added, as people cheered, “There were over a lakh people applying which shows the trust and expectations people have from MHADA and I am sure we can live up to both. We are not just giving homes but building communities in the city.”
Mumbai City Guardian Minister, Deepak Kesarkar highlighted, “There is now an accent on cluster housing redevelopment schemes.” He pointed to how we will see a transformation in Dharavi soon and the mammoth BDD Chawl redevelopment. “A huge project is also going to start at the Bandra Government Colony. There is a definite effort to expedite stalled projects. There are developers who have shifted people into transit camps. These persons may be there for years and developers have stopped paying rent. These projects have to be taken over and completed, bringing relief to these people,” he ended.
Atul Save, housing minister, pointed out: “Those who have not got a lottery this time… we are coming up with another lottery, do not worry,” and added, “the accent is on redevelopment in old areas.”
Winner wise
The “do not lose hope” message resonated most as Jayshri Hotkar, winner of the lottery and a home in Vikhroli in the Low Income Group (LIG) from the General Public (GP) category, claimed she had walked that talk. “I want to tell people to hold on to hope,” said the MHADA employee who claimed she had filled in the form for the lottery at least, “seven to eight times in 10 years… at last I have landed a home.”
Hotkar added that for years she used to commute from Titwala to the Bandra East office. “To have your home in Mumbai is a dream. I am now a true blue Mumbaikar,” she laughed. “In the end, a lottery is a lottery. This is such a fair process and in recent years because everything has moved online, it has eased the process hugely. No more taking rounds of MHADA. Even after results, refunds are made easily and quickly. Naturally, when there are a over a lakh applicants and 2,000 homes, not everybody will get a home, but like me, ‘aapka bhi time aayega’,” she said, elated herself, but not forgetting those who had not won and have to keep trying their luck.
Of the total 2,030 flats available, 1,327 flats were part of new construction projects, while 370 flats were obtained through redevelopment projects. Another 333 flats were from previous schemes. The lottery draw received 47,134 applications for 359 flats in the extremely low-income group, 48,762 applications for 627 flats in the low-income group, 11,461 applications for 768 flats in the middle-income group, and 6,454 applications for 276 flats in the high-income group. Another draw is expected between March and June 2025.
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