Vadodara, October 20 — The Gujarat government has proposed allotting a long-disputed municipal plot in Vadodara to former India cricketer and Lok Sabha MP Yusuf Pathan, with 500 square metres to be given free of cost and the remaining 478 square metres at a concessional rate, news agency PTI reported. The proposal, submitted by the Vadodara municipal commissioner, will be placed before the BJP-ruled Vadodara Municipal Corporation's standing committee for approval on October 23.
The 978-square-metre residential plot, in the Tandalja locality, sits next to Pathan's family home. Under the proposal, the remaining land will be valued at 55% of the rate fixed by the Vadodara Urban Development Authority Valuation Committee — a 45% concession. The plot's full value has been estimated at about Rs 20.53 crore (yaani about Rs 20.5 crore in total, at roughly Rs 2.10 lakh per square metre). The allotment would be made subject to terms under a 2024 resolution of Gujarat's Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, and the state resolution requires land of equivalent value to be given to the municipal corporation in return.
Pathan has sought the plot since 2012, citing security concerns. The municipal corporation initially considered a transfer, but the Gujarat government rejected a direct allotment in 2014. In 2024, after Pathan won the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal on a Trinamool Congress ticket, the civic body issued him a notice over alleged encroachment on the plot. Pathan challenged the notice in the Gujarat High Court and withdrew his appeal on August 31, 2026.
The timing has drawn political attention. Pathan quit the TMC about two months ago and joined a group of MPs who aligned with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India and the BJP-led NDA in Parliament. TMC MP Mahua Moitra has alleged that Pathan received the land gift and the discount after quitting the Trinamool Congress, according to NationPress. That is an allegation by a political opponent; no direct connection between the political switch and the land proposal has been established, and Pathan's claim under a state policy for distinguished sportspersons predates his election as an MP.
The proposal is not final: it still needs the standing committee's approval and then ratification, and the final payment figures are to be fixed by the civic body.
Sources: PTI (reported by News89 and The Business Standard); Illustrated Daily News; Particle News summary of the Gujarat government proposal and Vadodara Municipal Corporation agenda.