Deadline for Mhada lottery payment extended till Thursday

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has decided to extend the deposit payment deadline for housing lottery from Tuesday to Thursday afternoon. The decision was taken after the Mhada portal server was unable to take the load of the last-minute applicants.

Due to the excessive load on the server, many applicants couldn't deposit the earnest money online. They then reached the Mhada office, seeking an extension of the deadline.

According to an official, there were around 3,000 hits per minute on the server that has a capacity of only 500-1,000 hits per minute. "In the last one month, we did not receive any complaints about the website being inoperative or having technical difficulties. But on Tuesday, those waiting for the nth hour, started making requests," said a Mhada official.

Every year, Mhada faces the same issue due to many people waiting for the last minute to do the needful. "Individuals who have already submitted their applications can now make a refundable deposit payment till 3.30pm on Thursday. Thereafter, no extension would be given," said Mhada spokesperson Vaishali Sandansingh.

The lottery draw is scheduled to be held on February 24 for 4,275 houses available in Thane, Mira Road, Virar and Vengurla.