The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority's (Mhada) lottery for its 3,863 flats will be delayed due to the huge response it has been getting.

Mhada had extended the last date of submission of forms by a week to enable more people to participate, The Times of India reported.

Mumbai Mhada CEO H K Jawale said Mhada had received 2.85 lakh applications till yesterday and expects the total number of submissions to reach 4 lakh.

"We will take some time to scan and prepare for the lottery which could be probably held in May or June,'' he said.