Mhada steps up efforts to boost affordable housing sales with street plays

Mhada launches an outreach campaign to boost interest in its housing lottery, featuring street plays and kiosks, as applications lag ahead of the December deadline.

Mumbai: Faced with a lukewarm response to its ‘affordable homes’ scheme, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (Mhada) Konkan Board has launched an innovative outreach campaign to draw attention to its ongoing housing lottery. The initiative includes street plays, information kiosks, flyers, and banners at key locations to promote the lottery process and encourage participation.

Mhada steps up efforts to boost affordable housing sales with street plays

“As part of our marketing and outreach strategy, we will set up information kiosks, distribute flyers, perform street plays, and install banners at strategic locations,” said Revati Gaikar, chief officer of the Konkan board.

Officials have identified 29 high-traffic locations such as railway stations, fuel pumps, religious sites, and government offices for these activities. Prominent venues include civic body head offices across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the Thane Regional Transport Office (RTO), Jivdani Devi Temple in Virar, Vasai Church, and railway stations in Virar, Vasai, Thane, Badlapur, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Vashi, Panvel, Dombivli, Karjat, and Kalyan.

Ahead of the anticipated Maharashtra assembly election announcement in October, Mhada had rolled out the sale of 12,626 homes across MMR and Konkan. The number has since been increased to over 16,000, with 14,047 units being offered on a first-come, first-served (FCFS) basis. These FCFS homes include unsold units from previous lottery draws, priced between ₹15 lakh and ₹20 lakh.

As of Monday afternoon, Mhada had received 11,814 applications for homes under the lottery scheme, but only 4,076 of these included the mandatory earnest money deposit. Despite the current figures, Mhada’s deputy chief officer, Anil Wankhade, expressed confidence in the campaign’s impact: “We are optimistic about a strong response. Applications for the lottery draw homes have already doubled.”

The deadline for applications is December 10, but officials indicated it may be extended to accommodate more applicants. The approximately 2,000 homes available through the lottery are priced between ₹15 lakh and ₹1 crore, offering a range of options for aspiring homeowners.