A MahaIT system failure is preventing applicants from completing their Pune MHADA housing lottery applications, with residence certificates, income tax returns and tehsildar-issued income certificates repeatedly failing barcode verification. More than one lakh applications have been submitted for 4,462 flats in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, while the application deadline is October 15.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority advertised the flats on August 26 and initially set September 30 as the application deadline. MHADA later extended the deadline to October 15 after applicants reported difficulties obtaining and verifying documents required for the lottery application process.
Applicants have told the housing board that the online system is unable to complete verification even when they upload valid documents. The system uses MahaIT to verify barcodes on residence certificates, income tax returns and income certificates issued by tehsildars. The current failure has forced several applicants to upload the same documents repeatedly.
The disruption has left applicants spending days trying to complete a process that is required before their applications can be submitted successfully. Several applicants have approached the MHADA office directly for assistance, raising concerns over whether they will be able to complete their applications before the extended deadline.
MHADA officials said the problem originated in the MahaIT computer system and not on the housing board’s website. The officials said MHADA had reported the technical issue to the concerned MahaIT department, which indicated that the glitch would be resolved soon.
In response to the complaints, MHADA has deployed separate staff to handle applicants’ grievances. The team includes personnel from the authority’s information technology department and other employees who are assisting applicants facing verification problems.
The housing board has not announced a further extension to the October 15 deadline. Applicants continue to depend on the restoration of the MahaIT verification system to complete the document-upload and application process.
