MHADA’s most expensive homes to be out in the market again; sans lottery draw

Crescent Tower, built by the Shapoorji Pallonji group, was a project taken up in 2017. When these high value flats remained unsold after two lotteries, Mhada officials decided to delink them from the authority’s lottery process

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (Mhada) most expensive apartments–going up to ₹7.58 crore–remain unsold even after two lottery draws, one in 2023, and another in 2024. While they drew in several applicants, many backed out, making Mhada reconsider its decision to make these luxury apartments available through a lottery.

Mumbai, India - May 23, 2023: A general view of new and vacant MHADA flat in Crescent Tower, at Tardeo, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

In the 2023 lottery, eight of Mhada’s most expensive flats at the Crescent Tower in Tardeo, were up for grabs at prices ranging from ₹7.58 crore for a 1,532 sq.ft 19th floor apartment, to ₹5.93 crore for the smallest of the eight. With no takers, the flats went back into the lottery pool in 2024, where the initial 43 applicants eventually all backed out.

Crescent Tower, built by the Shapoorji Pallonji group, was a project taken up in 2017. When these high value flats remained unsold after two lotteries, Mhada officials decided to delink them from the authority’s lottery process. In a meeting held on September 28, senior Mhada officials decided that these flats will now be available on a first-come-first-serve scheme, one usually reserved to quickly sell off flats to the Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups. Mhada will now place an advertisement announcing the availability of its costliest flats, and interested applicants can sign up without waiting for the lottery. Included in these flats will be seven of Crescent Tower’s apartments.

Crescent Tower, reserved for the High Income Group (HIG), overlooks the Mahalaxmi Race Course and also offers a sea-view on its western side. The most expensive of the flats, at ₹7.58 crore, is a 19th-floor 3BHK overlooking the Mahalakshmi Race Course, equipped with exclusive quarters for house helps.

When the flats were first introduced, they created a buzz in the real estate market, making people question this new avatar of Mhada, which was earlier viewed as a government agency that provided affordable housing to the people with lower incomes. While Crescent Tower’s prices remained below the market prices, they were still the costliest flats in Mhada’s history.

The apartments at Crescent Tower, Tardeo came into MHADA’s hands 14 years ago, when the state had asked builders to rebuild properties and make profits off the extra FSI instead of charging a premium cost for the land. Although the state later cancelled this policy, the flats which were earlier handed out by builders and now made available through Mhada’s lottery.

After the 2023 lottery draw, when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Badnapur Narayan Kuche backed out from buying one of Mhada’s costliest homes, former state finance minister Dr Bhagwat Karad, became eligible to claim the the 19th floor haven reserved for an MP/ MLA/ MLC. Dr Karad did not respond to HT queries about the lottery draw and its outcome.