mumbai a few days ago the maharashtra housing and area development authority mhada decided to revoke the controversial allotment of 39 public housing plots in landstarved mumbai to politicians their educational or charitable trusts and even some real estate firms among others the move comes after the shiv senabjp opposition alliance raised the issue and an internal probe was ordered in march of allotments of lands reserved for public housing by congress chief ministers political and housing analysts while welcoming mhadas decision wonder whether the decision will become a reality they point out to the classic example of urban land ceiling ulc act though the act has bee revoked some four years ago the government is not yet to take possession of the surplus land estimated to be almost 100 acres to revoke the allotments has to be approved by a mhada committee before it can be implemented in case of mhada which is currently left with just two hectares of land the decision is yet to be approved by the mhada authority and only after that the cancellations will free up muchneeded land for public housing mhada is currently left with just two hectares two chief ministers vilasrao deshmukh and sushil kumar shinde are learnt to have given away 67 prime plots some of them in violation of rules between 1999 and 2003 in april 2004 bombay high court stopped the preferential allotment of land meant for public housing and amenities some 39 plots spread over 17 hectares whose allotments are to be revoked include some that were given away before 1999