A house: A gift from god for some

Residents of Chembur’s Sahakar Nagar are still a little stunned that they got lucky in last year’s Mhada lottery of flats. HT reports.

Residents of Chembur’s Sahakar Nagar are still a little stunned that they got lucky in last year’s Mhada lottery of flats. They were among the more than four lakh people who applied for 3,449 subsidised flats that the state-run housing agency put on sale last May — and got lucky.

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Located near the Tilak Nagar station on the harbour line, their locality is nevertheless quiet and has facilities like school and hospitals nearby.

“It was my fourth attempt applying for government housing schemes,” said Ali Fansofkar, 41, a sub-engineer with BEST. “With God’s grace I got it last year. I have always lived in south Mumbai so I find Chembur a little far but getting this house was a big relief.”

Residents say they were pleasantly surprised by the construction quality. But while most said they did not need to undertake major renovations, they did have some problems, such as the colony water tank overflowing because it did not have automatic stop valves.

They also said the paperwork and procedures to get possession of the flats were confusing, time-consuming and cumbersome. This year, Mhada officials have said this will change.