The Mumbai Board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) is considering cancelling the allotments of 1,051 flats at Kon in Panvel after the selected mill worker allottees and their heirs failed to complete the formalities needed to take possession of the homes, according to a report published on Friday. The vacant flats may subsequently be offered to eligible applicants on the waiting list.

Source: Urban Acres via Re-Mumbai

The flats were allotted through a lottery conducted by MHADA's Mumbai Board in 2016 for 2,417 homes under a rental housing project developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at Kon, Panvel. The possession process for successful applicants began in 2024. So far, 1,251 beneficiaries have received their homes, while the handover process for approximately 80 more applicants is currently under way.

However, 1,086 lottery winners had not completed the necessary procedures, with the pending cases linked to incomplete documentation, non-payment of the required housing amount, or failure to begin the possession formalities despite submitting papers. MHADA said the Mumbai Board gave the allottees several opportunities over the past 12 to 18 months to complete the process.

As a final reminder, the board published the names of the 1,086 pending beneficiaries on October 21 and invited them to submit possession applications between October 26 and November 3. The notice stated clearly that failure to respond within the stipulated period would be treated as unwillingness to accept the allotted property, resulting in cancellation of the allotment and transfer of the flats to waiting-list candidates. Only 35 applicants submitted their applications by the November 3 deadline, leaving 1,051 who did not respond, according to Mumbai Board officials.

Source: Mumbai Viral

The final opportunity was approved by MHADA Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Jaiswal, and Mumbai Board Chief Officer Milind Borikar had directed that the last chance be extended to the pending beneficiaries. With several homes lying unoccupied while eligible applicants continue to wait for housing, the board is expected to take a decision on the proposed cancellations shortly. No final cancellation order has been announced yet.

The development is significant for Mumbai's mill worker families, as the state government has reserved 50 per cent of homes in MMRDA rental housing projects for this category. The Kon, Panvel homes are part of the long-running effort to house workers of Mumbai's closed textile mills and their legal heirs.

What happens next

If the board goes ahead, the 1,051 unclaimed allotments are expected to be cancelled and the flats offered to eligible applicants on the waiting list. Allottees who still wish to claim their homes should check the beneficiary list published on MHADA's official website and contact the Mumbai Board without delay.