Chawl family wins 5 flats in Mhada lottery

Mumbai: Alltheking'shorses and all the king's men are unable to put the Mhada lottery together again. 

    Once more this year, the annual housing board draw has thrown up a list of multiple winners, who have won up to five flats at one go. Unlike earlier, when the applications were in serial order, this time, the numbers for flats are so far apart that each bidder is likely to have waited a few days beforebuying the nextform. 

    Thursday's lottery was heldfor 2,593 flatswith approximately 58 applicants vying for a single apartment. Beating the odds, the Momin family thatlivesin theBITchawl atJacob Circle hit the jackpot five times. The lady of the house, Hareem, her husband Saad, and her sister-in-law Dr Siddiqa won a house each in Charkop andKurla.Hareem iswaitlisted in Charkop and Malwani. The couple seem to be in their 20s but have won in thefreedom fighter'sslot. 

    According to Mhada rules, a couple can keep only one flat between them, but parents, independentchildren or siblings who earn individual incomes areentitledto an apartmenteach.Hareem declinedcomment on thefamily'sturnof fortune. 

    Each year since 2009, TOI has reportedhow a singleindividual or family has won up to four flats each in the annual draw. Since then, the authorities have used several means to plug the loopholes by altering the software, appointing a new consultant, demanding PAN numbers from the lowest category applicant, and this year, summarily rejected 11,000 applications that bore fake addresses or bank account numbers,butto no avail. 

    AbhijeetThakur andKishore Dhekane have each won two flats in Charkop. The father-son pair of Gangaram and Ravi Bakan is wait-listed to threehousesin Charkop andPrateeksha Nagar. Kazmeen Sayed has won a flat in Pratiksha Nagar andiswait-listedfor one in Charkop, while ex-serviceman Pratap Save has won flats in Malwani and Charkop. "Applicants can apply in different categories and codes so the chance of winning multiple flats remains," saidjointsecretary,housing,DKJagdale.

HOUSE THAT: The Mhada lottery was held on Thursday for 2,593 flats in the city