Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Friday took the final decision on the issue of allotting a plot to former cricketer and MP Yusuf Pathan.
Yusuf Pathan had parted ways with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) a few months ago and is currently with the BJP-led NDA.
Yusuf Pathan wanted to get a plot of government land near his bungalow in Vadodara, but till now the Gujarat government was not ready for it.
According to BBC Gujarati, the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation unanimously approved this proposal.
However, the opposition party Congress took an aggressive stance against this decision and staged a strong protest in the municipality premises raising loud slogans.
The Congress expressed its protest with slogans like 'One vote costs Rs 15 crore', 'Yusuf Pathan, son-in-law of VMC', and 'Vote thief, plot thief, note thief'.
Vadodara City Congress President Ritvij Joshi said, "BJP gave this plot to Yusuf Pathan for free. He was in possession of this land for the last 14 years. BJP leaders had earlier talked about filing a case of land grabbing against Pathan, then why was this plot given today? Even though cricketer Radha Yadav had asked for land to open an academy, the government did not give it to her. Land was not given. Then why such partiality in this matter?"
Standing Committee Chairperson Varshaben Vyas spoke to the media on this matter. He said, "This proposal came from the Gujarat government and the standing committee has approved it. This approval has been given as a special case under the Land and Settlement Act. Radha Yadav's demand has not reached us yet. We will also listen to her and consider it under the Land and Settlement Act."
Earlier, the Gujarat government had given green signal to allot 978 square meters of land in Tandalja area of Vadodara. The value of this land is said to be Rs 20.53 crore.
According to the information received, out of 978 square meters of land, 500 square meters of land will be given free of cost to Yusuf Pathan for residential use. At the same time, the remaining 478 square meters of land will be given at 45 percent less than the fixed price. That means Pathan will have to pay only 55 percent of the price of this share.
The Gujarat government has also clarified that this decision has been taken as a special case and will not be considered as a precedent in future.
As per the government's decision, the Revenue Department will allot another land equal to the value of this land to Vadodara Municipal Corporation as compensation. The final decision on this proposal will be taken after getting approval in the meeting of the Standing Committee and General Body of the Municipal Corporation to be held next Friday.
It is noteworthy that Yusuf Pathan had filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court regarding this matter, which he later withdrew.
Yusuf Pathan wanted to take on lease a 978 square meter plot near his house in Vadodara, but the Municipal Corporation was not ready for it. This is why the controversy started. Two years ago, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) had also issued a notice to Yusuf Pathan for allegedly occupying government land.
A boundary wall and a shed were built on this plot, which was not legally allotted to Pathan. This matter was raised by former BJP councilor Vijay Pawar in Vadodara. He had given a written complaint in this regard to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on June 21, 2024.
After Vijay Pawar's complaint, Vadodara Municipal Corporation issued a notice to Yusuf Pathan asking him to remove the alleged encroachment from the plot. Yusuf Pathan approached Gujarat High Court against this.
At that time, Suresh Tuveer, Deputy Commissioner of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, had said in an official statement, "This plot is completely owned by the Municipal Corporation. Yusuf Pathan has encroached on this plot by building a boundary wall. We had given a notice to remove this encroachment, against which he has gone to the High Court."
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Yusuf Pathan had won from Baharampur seat of West Bengal as a TMC candidate. Shortly thereafter, in June, the BJP-ruled Vadodara Municipal Corporation had issued a notice to Pathan over alleged encroachment of a plot.
BJP won the West Bengal Assembly elections in June 2026. Shortly thereafter, 20 TMC MPs left the party and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). Yusuf Pathan was also included in these.
Now, two months after parting ways with TMC, the state government has agreed to provide Yusuf Pathan a 500 square meter plot free of cost and the remaining 478 square meter land at a concessional rate.
The proposal to allot the plot to Yusuf Pathan will soon be placed before the standing committee of Vadodara Municipal Corporation. After this a decision will be taken on this.
This plot is situated in Final Plot No. 90 of Town Planning Scheme No. 22. This year, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) had started preparations for the public auction of this plot. For this, the price per square meter was fixed at Rs 2.10 lakh. According to this, the estimated cost of the plot comes to Rs 20.5 crore.
Yusuf Pathan had proposed to VMC in 2012 that this vacant plot be given to him on a 99-year lease without public auction. Giving the reason for this, he said that he is an international cricketer and keeping his safety in mind, land should be allotted for residential use near his bungalow.
At that time the standing committee and general body of VMC were ready to allot the plot. The value of the land was estimated to be around Rs 5.6 crore and Pathan was ready to pay this amount. But then the Urban Development Department was not in favor of allotting plots directly without public auction.
After this, Yusuf Pathan joined TMC in the June 2024 Lok Sabha elections and defeated Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary from Baharampur seat. Choudhary had been elected MP from this seat five times.
Varshaben Vyas, chairperson of the standing committee of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, told the BBC, "There will be a meeting of the standing committee on Friday, in which a proposal will be made in this regard. The decision taken unanimously will be considered final."
Former BJP councilor in Vadodara Vijay Pawar had exposed this entire matter. He told the BBC, "A proposal regarding this plot was brought in 2012 and it was approved in the General Assembly. After this, approval was sought from the state government. In 2014, the state government replied that this plot cannot be given without auction. That is why we had highlighted this matter."
He said, "Now if the state government is ready to give the plot to Yusuf Pathan, then nothing can be done. The government is paramount. So there is no need to oppose this matter now."
