Earn more than Rs 40k? No MHADA flat for you

If your monthly earnings are Rs 40,001 and more, you will have to put your dream home on the backburner for at least two years. In its next lottery, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will allot 4,000 homes, but not a single home is meant for the Higher Income Group.

Picture used for representational purpose only

The MHADA home allotment falls into the following sections - Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Lower Income Group (salary below Rs 20,001), Middle Income Group (salary between Rs 20,001 to 40,000 per month) and HIG (salary above Rs 40,001). During the announcement on Thursday, Satish Gavai, VP and CEO, MHADA, said their main criterion is to provide homes for the weaker sections of the society. Realty experts say this is a wrong move. "MHADA has forgotten that even a person earning up to Rs 1 lakh per month cannot afford a house between Mulund and Borivli. It needs to reevaluate this decision according to the current market situation," said Ajay Chaturvedi, realty expert.

One by two
If a person who earns around Rs 40,000 per month opts for an HIG flat, the interest rate will consume his entire salary, says 43 year-old Ashwin Jain. "The government should now think of increasing the bar of HIG. That's the best way to accommodate everyone," the financial executive from Dombivli said.

The large size of the HIG flats - 650 square feet - seems to have prompted this decision. "One HIG flat can be turned into two to three LIG and EWS flats. To solve the land scarcity in Mumbai, our main aim is to provide homes to as many people as we can. The best way to do it is by constructing smaller houses for the weaker section," an official said on condition of anonymity.