The housing body is charging Rs11,600/sq ft in Kandivli while the market rate is Rs8,000/sq ft.
Location: Kandivli; flat area: 476 sq ft; cost: Rs55.16 lakh. This is not an advertisement by a private developer but this is what an allottee will pay for Mhada’s Higher Income Group (HIG) flat under Shimpoli project at Kandivli.
Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA) provides affordable houses under various categories. But the price tag of Rs55,16,600 for a 476-sq ft flat, which works out to around Rs11,600 per sq ft, is more than that charged by a private developer in the area.
The going rate in the area is Rs8,000 per sqft and a 600-sqft 1BHK flat in a private project at Shimpoli will cost less than Rs50 lakh.
Though MHADA had clearly outlined the flat’s area and the price in the offer document prior to the lottery, applicants thought there had been some error because MHADA’s HIG houses measure more than 700 sqft.
“We assumed that the HIG flat will be at least 700 sq ft and then Rs55 lakh would be justified,” said one of the allottees.
He was shocked when MHADA said there was no error in the document and the rate quoted was correct.
In comparison to the Kandivli project, MHADA’s HIG homes in Powai and Borivli are priced at Rs35 lakh and Rs42 lakh respectively.
The other 1BHK homes in the Lower Income Group (LIG) category at the same site have a price tag of Rs4,900 per sq ft (306 sqft flats for Rs15 lakh).
“When both apartments are 1BHK, how can Mhada charge more than double the price to the Higher Income Group applicants?” said another allottee, adding that the rate structure goes against Mhada’s aim of providing affordable houses.
MHADA said the high cost of the flats is to offset the losses incurred to reserve space for a garden in the complex to make up for the space lost to a nullah passing adjacent to the compound.
“The rate may be higher, but most allottees see the value in buying a MHADA house because they get more carpet area compared to private buildings,” said a spokesperson of MHADA.
She added that the allotment letters for all the HIG houses at Shimpoli have been collected by those selected in the lottery and the possession would be given in due course of time.
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