Mumbai’s dream of affordable housing through the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has taken a severe hit with the launch of its Mumbai Board Lottery 2026. The authority has put up 2,640 homes for sale, but several flats listed under the Lower Income Group (LIG) category are priced so high that they have sent shockwaves through the homebuyer community.
Online registration for the lottery opened on March 30, 2026, at 3 pm and will remain open until April 29. The computerised draw is scheduled for May 15 at 11 am. Of the total units, 858 are reserved for LIG, 145 for Economically Weaker Section (EWS), 1,408 for Middle Income Group (MIG), and 229 for Higher Income Group (HIG). While overall prices range from ₹29 lakh to ₹6.82 crore, it is the LIG segment — meant for families with annual income between ₹6 lakh and ₹9 lakh — that has left buyers stunned.
A quick look at the LIG flats reveals prices that are virtually indistinguishable from what private developers are charging in the same neighbourhoods. Here are some glaring examples:
- A 54.92 sq m flat in Prerna CHS, Worli, is listed at ₹2.09 crore.
- A 48.18 sq m apartment in Lower Parel is priced at ₹1.68 crore.
- In Wadala, a 52.94 sq m home in Sanghavi Heights is being offered for ₹1.53 crore, while a 46.60 sq m flat in Anand Heights is tagged at ₹1.43 crore.
- In Dadar, a 55.23 sq m unit in Swagruh CHSL is priced at ₹1.32 crore.
- A 51.39 sq m flat in Andheri’s Manas CHSL costs ₹1.30 crore.
- Even in Juhu’s JVPD scheme, a modest 34.54 sq m apartment in Vrindavan CHS is being sold for ₹1.19 crore.
These are not isolated cases. Several LIG flats in prime and semi-prime locations are hovering well above ₹1 crore — and in some cases crossing ₹2 crore. For a family earning ₹9 lakh a year (roughly ₹75,000 per month), servicing a home loan for a ₹2 crore flat is practically impossible without stretching finances to breaking point.
What was once seen as the last refuge for middle- and lower-middle-class Mumbaikars has now become just another high-priced housing scheme. The prices at which MHADA is selling these LIG homes are more or less in line with what private developers are demanding in the open market. The very purpose of MHADA — to provide genuinely affordable homes to those who cannot compete in the open market — appears to have been diluted.
For thousands of hopeful applicants who have waited years for an MHADA lottery, this feels like the final blow to their dream of owning a home in Mumbai. Many are openly saying that the 2026 lottery has crushed whatever little hope they had left in the government’s flagship housing scheme.
The full price list and project details are available on the official MHADA portal (housing.mhada.gov.in). Applications can be submitted online till April 29, but for many LIG aspirants, the question remains: at these prices, who exactly is this “affordable” housing meant for?
Also Read: MHADA Lottery: 430 Applications, 165 Payments on Day 1 for 2,640 Mumbai Homes
