Mhada lottery for 1,384 flats gets under way in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The state housing board

's

for 1,384 apartments began 10.00am Sunday. The result is expected to be uploaded on its web site at 6.00pm.

The board has received 1.64 lakh applications for 1,384 flats. Yet as in previous years, this year too, the software ended up drawing multiple winners from one family. Rameez Tadvi was an early bird who won an apartment. Separately, his mother and father also won flats.

Among other winners was Mhada worker Samar Pakhare, state government employee Trupti Kharat and another woman Prajakta Khadye. There is a quota allocated to Mhada and state government employees among other categories including journalists.

This year, Mhada's three costiest flats ever, costing Rs 4.99 crore, Rs 5.13 crore and Rs 5.8 crore, are the highlight of the lottery. These apartments are located in Dhavalgiri building near August

Maidan.

However, the bid is marked by controversy since the housing society has disputed Mhada's ownership in a petition filed in the Bombay high court. It has also claimed outstanding unpaid dues since 2013.

The other flats costing upwards of Rs 15 lakh are located in

, Mulund,

,

, Kandivli, Chandivli and Sion.