The MHADA Pune housing lottery has attracted 2,74,068 applicants who paid the required earnest money deposit for 4,462 homes, creating an average competition of 61 applicants for every home. The draw for the economically weaker section (EWS) and low-income group (LIG) homes is scheduled for December 1, according to officials cited by Punekar News.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s Pune Board received 3,25,077 applications during the registration and submission period. Of these, 2,74,068 applications were accompanied by the mandatory earnest money deposit, making them eligible for consideration in the lottery, subject to the completion of document scrutiny.
The response is the highest recorded by the Pune Board for a housing lottery. Earlier lotteries had received a maximum of around 2.25 lakh applications accompanied by earnest money deposits. The latest figure is nearly 2.75 lakh, substantially exceeding the board’s previous high and the expectations stated by officials.
Applications were invited under the 15% integrated housing scheme and the 20% comprehensive housing scheme. The registration process began on August 24, but the board extended the deadline three times after applicants faced technical difficulties. The MahaIT system remained unavailable between October 16 and 20, preventing the verification of applicants’ documents during that period.
The application window finally closed on October 30. The Pune Board subsequently completed the pending document verification and announced the total number of applications received, including those backed by earnest money deposits. Officials said the applications would now be scrutinised before the final list of eligible applicants is published. Since only a small number of applications are generally rejected during scrutiny, nearly 2.74 lakh applicants are expected to participate in the draw.
The earnest money deposit was fixed at Rs 15,000 for EWS homes and Rs 20,000 for LIG homes. Applicants were also charged a non-refundable application fee of Rs 708. According to officials, the Pune Board collected approximately Rs 567.54 crore through earnest money deposits and application fees.
The scale of the response highlights the gap between demand for subsidised or regulated housing and the number of homes available through the lottery. While the draw will determine who receives the 4,462 homes, most applicants will remain without an allotment after the process, despite having paid the required deposit and application fee.
Applicants who do not secure a home are expected to receive refunds of their earnest money deposits after the December 1 draw. The Rs 708 application fee will not be refunded. The final eligible list and the scheduled lottery draw are the next milestones in the Pune Board’s process.
