The whole process will take about two weeks. “When MHADA had a draw for 870 flats at Malad last year, it took us about seven to eight hours. Taking that into account, it will take at least 12 days to complete the draw for the 42 projects we have this time,” said MHADA’s Mumbai Board chief officer H K Javale. He said the election code of conduct will not hinder the process as the MHADA housing scheme is an ongoing project.

MHADA has also sent a proposal to the state government, stating that the 4.3 lakh aspiring home buyers should be paid interest from June in case the draw is not carried out on time for some reason. MHADA officials said the system to be used for the draw will be tested by experts from Tata Consultancy Services and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to avoid any technical snag that occurred during its last draw. Experts from VJTI and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will also be present.

Once again bringing into spotlight the huge demand for homes among the economically weaker sections (EWS), MHADA has received a whopping 91,000 applications for 719 flats in the EWS category at Ghatkopar and Dahisar. Of the total 3,863 flats put up on sale by MHADA, less than 20 per cent are in the EWS category.