India
oi-Swastika Sruti
How changing political stands can help benefit an opposition leader. The latest development is relates to this line as the Standing Committee of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Friday, October 23, suddenly approved the allotment of a 978 square metre plot to ex Indian Crickter and Trinamool Congress MP turned politician Yusuf Pathan. The decision comes two years after the civic body issued him a notice over alleged encroachment on the same land.
On October 23, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation Standing Committee approved allotting 978 sq metres to ex-cricketer Yusuf Pathan, with part gifted and part at a concessional rate following past encroachment allegations and protests.
The proposal was approved without any questions being raised during the meeting, according to sources. All 12 members of the Standing Committee are BJP-elected corporators. The Congress, which has six corporators in the 69-member VMC, does not have representation on the committee.
Outside the committee hall, Congress leaders staged a protest against the proposed land transfer, carrying placards opposing the decision. The allotment has also drawn objections from a local citizens’ group, which has questioned whether public land is being treated fairly.
How Much Land Will Yusuf Pathan Get, And At What Cost?
The 978-square-metre plot is located at Town Planning Scheme 22, Final Plot 90, next to Pathan’s Bagh-e-Mehmud bungalow in Vadodara.
Under the approved proposal, 500 square metres will be transferred to Pathan as a gift, while the remaining 478 square metres will be allotted at a concessional rate. He will have to pay 55% of the valuation previously determined by the Valuation Committee of the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA).
It must be noted that this allotment follows a long-running dispute over the land.
Pathan had applied on March 3, 2012, seeking a 99-year lease without an auction.
The Gujarat government rejected his request in June 2014.
The VMC later alleged that he had fenced off and occupied the plot despite the rejection, leading to legal proceedings and an encroachment notice.
Why Was An Encroachment Notice Issued To Pathan?
In June 2024, shortly after Pathan won the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal on a Trinamool Congress ticket, the VMC issued him a notice asking him to remove the alleged encroachment.
Pathan challenged the government’s earlier rejection of his land request in the Gujarat High Court. A single judge dismissed his plea in August 2025. He subsequently appealed, but withdrew the appeal on August 31, 2026, two days after the VMC received a communication from the state government approving the transfer of the plot to him.
The issue had also come up during the civic body’s plans to dispose of the land through a public auction. In July 2026, the Standing Committee began preparations for an auction and approved a valuation of Rs 2.10 lakh per square metre, putting the estimated value of the entire plot at around Rs 20.5 crore.
However, the proposal was later withdrawn after the VMC’s General Board raised questions about the alleged encroachment and said the land should not be disposed of before the issue was resolved.
Congress Protests Against The Allotment
Corporators from Congress, Pushpa Vaghela and Ashish Joshi, along with city party president, Rutvij Joshi, and Congress leader Swejal Vyas performed a sit-in outside the Standing Committee hall before Friday’s meeting.
The people protesting against the decision to give away the piece of land to Pathan were not able to find any member of their party to ask questions from within the committee as there are 12 seats, all of which are occupied by BJP corporators.
The decision was taken a day after the Vishwamitri Bachao Samiti handed a memorandum to the VMC commissioner, requesting the civic body to retract the decision.
Equality, the legal aspect of the land and the issue of treating public property were the aspects raised by the group. Advocate Shailesh Amin representing the Samiti raised the point why Pathan should be given an exceptional concession while other sportspersons of Vadodara, who have also played for India, were not given any such honor.
He mentioned the case of Pathan playing in 2007 and 2011 ODI World Cup and wondered if Indian women’s team player Yastika Bhatia and all-rounder Hardik Pandya could also get the same facility.
What Did The VMC Say About The Decision?
Standing Committee chairperson Varsha Vyas said the proposal was approved on the basis of the state government’s resolution and the recommendation sent by the municipal commissioner.
Vyas cited the Urban/Area Development Authorities (Disposal of Land and Other Properties) Regulations, 2002, which set out rules for disposing of land and other properties. She said Regulation 3(1) allows disposal through sale or the grant of development rights.
Vyas also said Pathan had brought pride to India through his sporting achievements and that the committee had acted on the state government’s approval.
The decision has therefore moved forward despite earlier objections and the dispute over the alleged encroachment. The questions raised by the Congress and the Vishwamitri Bachao Samiti centre on why the land is being allotted through this route, whether the terms are fair to other sportspersons, and how the earlier dispute affects the transfer.
Why Is The Decision Being Discussed In The Political Context?
The allotment has also drawn attention because of developments in West Bengal politics. Pathan won the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat in 2024 as a TMC candidate. On June 14, 2026, he and 19 other MPs announced that they were leaving the party and joining the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). They also asked the Lok Sabha Speaker to seat them separately from the TMC.
The political shift followed the TMC’s defeat in West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee lost power on May 4 and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took charge as chief minister on May 9.
The Indian Express had reported on October 19 that the Gujarat government had decided to allot the land to Pathan. The VMC Standing Committee’s unanimous approval on October 23 marks a further step in the process.
The allotment has now been approved by the committee, but concerns about the alleged encroachment, the valuation of the land and the special terms of the transfer remain central to the public debate.
