Mumbai Mill Workers Housing: 1.01 Lakh Applicants Eligible
A special eligibility-verification campaign for Mumbai mill workers and their heirs has resulted in 1,01,433 applicants being declared eligible for rehabilitation housing, while around 40,000 applicants have yet to submit the required documents, according to officials from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
The Labour Department and MHADA began the campaign three years ago to collect applications and supporting documents from mill workers and their heirs. The exercise is intended to complete eligibility checks before housing lotteries are conducted, allowing homes to be allotted to eligible applicants after the draw.
According to information provided by officials from MHADA’s Mumbai Board, 1,09,818 workers and heirs had submitted applications and documents by September 3, 2026. Of these, 1,01,433 applicants have been found eligible, while decisions on 6,907 applications are still pending.
The number of submitted applications has increased only marginally in recent months. In April, 1,09,127 workers and heirs had submitted their applications and documents. By the end of August, the figure had risen by 691 to 1,09,818.
The authorities have repeatedly extended the deadline for submitting documents. The state government has also allowed applications to continue as mill workers and heirs come forward, reflecting the difficulties many applicants face in completing the eligibility process.
The rehabilitation programme follows the state government’s decision to provide housing on mill land for former mill workers and their families. Applications were submitted to MHADA in two phases, and approximately 1.5 lakh mill workers and heirs are still waiting for housing, according to the report. The state government and MHADA are continuing to search for land for the remaining homes.
The eligibility process was brought forward so that housing lotteries would be conducted only after applicants’ claims had been examined. The government said this would make it possible to hand over homes to eligible workers and heirs soon after the lotteries. The authorities have not announced a fresh deadline for completing the remaining document submissions or a date for the next housing lottery in the information available.
The Labour Department and MHADA’s campaign will continue to accept documents from workers and heirs who have not yet completed the application process. The pending eligibility decisions and the availability of land for the remaining housing are the next stated steps in the rehabilitation process.
