Despite four deadline extensions for registration and payment of the booking amount, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has received only 21,399 valid applications for the draw of 26,000 homes under the My Preferred Home scheme. CIDCO has now published a draft list of applicants who successfully paid the booking amount by January 31, 2025.
Launched on October 12, 2024, during Dussehra, the scheme was designed to benefit economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income groups (LIG) under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The 26,000 flats are located across multiple Navi Mumbai nodes, including Vashi, Baman Dongri, Kharkopar, Kharghar (P), Kharghar (Po) (Taloja), Mansarovar, Khandeshwar, Panvel, and Kalamboli.
CIDCO extended the deadline four times, citing requests from homebuyers who needed more time to arrange the required documents. However, even after the final deadline, only 21,399 applicants paid the mandatory booking amount—Rs75,000 for EWS homes and Rs1.5 lakh for LIG homes. The draft list of applicants was published on January 3, 2025. Notably, 114 applicants made their payments after January 31.
The final list of applicants will be published on January 10, followed by the draw on January 15, 2025.
Several homebuyers backed out after CIDCO announced the prices in the second week of December. "The high price of homes reportedly discouraged many buyers. Despite CIDCO's extensive promotion on social media, it failed to attract even the number of applicants equal to the homes available," said a real estate expert.