Price of flats will not be hiked after lottery: Mhada

As allottees of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (Mhada) 2011 scheme are at their wit’s end over the hike in flat prices after they were allotted houses, the authority has said it won’t hike prices of tenements under its latest scheme. So far, 35,000 applicants have submitted forms for 2,593 low-cost houses, the lottery for which will be held on May 31.

As allottees of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (Mhada) 2011 scheme are at their wit’s end over the hike in flat prices after they were allotted houses, the authority has said it won’t hike prices of tenements under its latest scheme. So far, 35,000 applicants have submitted forms for 2,593 low-cost houses, the lottery for which will be held on May 31.

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Bhausaheb Dangade, chief officer of Mhada’s Mumbai board, said, “We have conducted studies to calculate the price of the present flats, and such a rise will not take place.” The price of Mhada flats ranges from Rs 15 lakh in the lowest category to the most expensive at Rs 57 lakh.

Mhada held the lottery for 4,034 flats last year. But, winners of these flats in Powai are in despair as Mhada has revised the price of flats here to Rs50 lakh from Rs 34.75 lakh.

“A Rs15-lakh hike is not a small amount; I have already taken a bank loan. This is a huge amount to raise,” said Rakesh Jadhav, who won a flat in Powai. A price revision is also on the cards for Mhada’s flats in Malwani.

Letters about the price revision have yet to reach flat owners. “If Mhada had to revise the price, they should have informed me while allotting the flat. I have already paid five EMIs. How am I supposed to raise Rs15 lakh all of a sudden?” said another aggrieved winner.