Officials said that a majority of their homes were being used by the BMC as quarantine facilities.  When COVID-19 broke out in the city, several agencies including MMRDA, SRA and MHADA had extended their support to the administration, to help with the crisis. MHADA had given out 600 homes to the BMC, and these units were used as isolation or quarantine facilities by those living in chawls and slums. “The BMC has still not given back these houses to the MHADA and hence, it’s unlikely that we will hold a lottery this year,” a source revealed. 

At present, there are over 10,000 active cases in the city. A MHADA official, who did not wish to be named, said, “We are yet to take a call on this, but in the present situation, we cannot be sure.”  MHADA recently conducted a lottery for BDD chawl residents. Its last lottery was for mill workers in early 2020, before the onset of the pandemic.