Got MHADA flats,can’t move in

Lots had been drawn for 3,863 flats in May,and MHADA plans to issue forms in December for its next lot of 4000-odd houses in Ghatkopar,Dahisar,Versova,Mankhurd,Malvani and Sion.

In the six months since their allotment,very few of the flats of the first batch have been occupied. In many colonies,electricity is being provided on a temporary basis,leaving lifts unworkable. In some,like Kanara Engineering in Ghatkopar,there is no electricity at all. Water supply is yet to start at Kannamwar Nagar and Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli,Shailendra Nagar in Dahisar,Shastri Nagar in Goregaon and at Versova. At Pratiksha Nagar in Sion,there is neither water nor electricity.

To get allotment letters for their flats,many were made to submit an affidavit that they know there is no water supply or electricity but are still willing to take possession.

When Newsline brought this to the notice of MHADA vice-president Gautam Chatterjee,he ordered officials to stop asking for such affidavits. “We had issued orders to discontinue this. The water problem is due to the recent supply cut imposed all over Mumbai. We have had meetings with senior BMC officials who have agreed in principle to supply water as soon as possible,” he said.

As for the problem with electricity,he agreed faulty planning had led to the delay in handing over of land to suppliers like Reliance and BEST for a substation.

While flat owners wait,they have to shell out the EMIs on their home loans. “My new flat is on the seventh floor in Sion. Since the lift is not working,I can’t even fetch water from outside. I am paying EMIs as well as the rent for my present home,” said a government employee who has bought a low income group (LIG) house in Pratiksha Nagar. This month,he had to spend most of his salary of Rs 14,000 on rent and loan repayment.

MHADA officials assure water supply in most places by the end of the month. However,the 686 families with high income group (HIG) flats in Versova will have to continue battling for water supply for a few more months.