Unable to start the process of accepting applications for its annual lottery for affordable houses as the code of conduct is in place, the state housing authority has now postponed the much-awaited draw, earlier scheduled for May 31, to June 15. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will open its online portal for registration of applicants on April 28. Applicants can register till May 28. The system will accept applications from registered applicants from May 6, while the last date to submit applications is May 30. Thereafter, the housing authority will scrutinise applications for their eligibility and will publish a final list of accepted applications on June 9. The draw of lot will be conducted on June 15 at the Rang Sharada Auditorium in Bandra. “We had to postpone the date of the lottery as the process for the draw was put on hold after the returning office of the Election Commission’s northern region wrote to us seeking clearance from the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra,” a MHADA spokesperson said. This year, MHADA has advertised the sale of 814 houses through its Mumbai board at Mankhurd, Borivali, Kurla, Pratiksha Nagar, Powai, Santacruz and Dahisar, and 1,827 houses in Virar and Vengurla through its Konkan board. The housing authority had earlier thought that while it may not be permitted to publish the lottery advertisement during the poll code of conduct, it will certainly be able to conduct the lottery application and the scrutiny process. Thus, MHADA was careful to publish the lottery advertisement much before the code of conduct was to set in, and had planned to start the registration process on April 15. Accordingly, the last date to receive applications was May 15, while the lottery was to be held on May 31. However, following a letter from the Election Commission on April 15, MHADA had to stall the entire process. mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
