Mhada to seize flats resold within 5 years

Those who have sold off their low-cost Mhada homes within five years of buying them are in for trouble. The Vigilance Department of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority will launch a crackdown in which it will seize flats that have been resold within five years of being bought. Naresh Kamath reports.

Those who have sold off their low-cost Mhada homes within five years of buying them are in for trouble. The Vigilance Department of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) will launch a crackdown in which it will seize flats that have been resold within five years of being bought.

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Mhada rules clearly state that such transactions are forbidden as the authority aims to provide affordable homes for Mumbaiites to live in and not for those who want the apartments as an investment option.

"Mhada flats are for those who cannot afford homes from private builders," said Amarjit Singh Manhas, chairman, Mhada, Mumbai division.

"We will not allow people to earn profits on our low-cost houses."

RK Padmanabhan, who had served as the deputy director of Air India's vigilance department, has taken over as chief of Mhada's vigilance cell and will undertake the operation.

From Monday, the cell will conduct an inspection of all flats allotted in the past three years and check the credentials of the occupants.

"We will evict illegal occupants and take back our property," Manhas said.

Buying affordable Mhada homes through a lottery system is one of the few options they are left with. In the past three lotteries, 8.28 lakh Mumbaiites applied for 8,182 Mhada homes, with an average of 101 applicants vying for one flat.

The housing authority has also extended Manhas's tenure by one year after he successfully conducted three lotteries of low-cost homes.