Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s standing committee on Friday unanimously approved the proposal to allot a 978-sq-metre plot in Tandalja to former India cricketer and former MP Yusuf Pathan, despite protests by Congress councillors and workers. The proposal, which includes gifting 500 sq metres and allotting the remaining land at a 45% concession, will now be placed before the VMC general body for ratification.The plot has an estimated market value of Rs 20.53 crore, based on the civic body’s approved rate of Rs 2.10 lakh per sq metre. Under a state govt resolution, the remaining land would be transferred at 55% of its assessed value. The resolution also provides for the state revenue department to compensate the VMC with land equivalent in value to the portion allotted to Pathan.Congress councillors and workers opposed the proposal, alleging that the civic body was sacrificing revenue and giving preferential treatment to Pathan. Party workers staged a dharna near the entrance to the standing committee meeting room and raised slogans against the BJP. Committee members entered through another entrance.“Is Yusuf Pathan the govt’s son-in-law?” asked Vadodara city Congress president Rutvij Joshi. He said the govt was effectively giving away a plot worth around Rs 15 crore and questioned why similar benefits had not been extended to other sportspersons.Congress workers raised slogans such as “Yusuf Pathan kahan milega, BJP ke daftar mein”, accusing the ruling party of favouritism.Congress councillor Chandrakant Shrivastav (Bhattu), in a representation to the standing committee chairperson, questioned the legality, transparency and financial implications of the allotment. He claimed the arrangement would cause a loss of around Rs 15 crore to the civic body and called for a uniform policy for allotting land to sportspersons who had represented the country.Shrivastav also questioned the proposal to compensate the VMC through replacement land and demanded recovery of occupation charges for the past 14 years, alleging that the plot had been used without proper authorisation. Referring to former India cricketers Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Atul Bedade and Anshuman Gaekwad, along with Hardik Pandya, he asked why comparable benefits had not been extended to other players.The dispute dates to 2012, when Pathan sought a 99-year lease of the plot adjoining his family’s residence in Tandalja, citing security concerns and the convenience of residential use. While the VMC standing committee and general body approved the proposal, the state urban development department rejected it in June 2014, stating that the land should be allotted through public auction or open bidding.The civic body later alleged that Pathan had fenced and occupied the plot despite the rejection. In 2024, after his election to the Lok Sabha from Baharampur in West Bengal on a Trinamool Congress ticket, the VMC issued a notice seeking removal of the alleged encroachment.The Gujarat High Court upheld the govt’s rejection of the allotment in Aug 2025, ruling that prolonged possession without an allotment order or payment did not confer any legal right over the land. Pathan subsequently challenged the order before a division bench but withdrew his appeal unconditionally on Aug 31, 2026.The latest proposal comes months after a change in Pathan’s political affiliations. He was among a group of MPs who left the Trinamool Congress and merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India on June 14, 2026, following the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal assembly elections. Pathan was later appointed a national vice-president of the NCPI, which joined the BJP-led NDA in Parliament.Land sought for Radha Yadav’s cricket academyVadodara: As the controversy over the Yusuf Pathan allotment gathered pace, a separate proposal seeking municipal land for India spinner Radha Yadav to establish a cricket academy was submitted to the VMC.Former councillor Bandish Shah said the proposed facility would give children and aspiring cricketers access to outdoor training infrastructure while helping promote Vadodara as a sports city.According to Shah, Yadav currently trains at an indoor cricket academy, though proper cricket training also requires an outdoor ground.“While Pathan’s plot is for residential use, the land sought for Yadav would be used to develop a cricket practice ground. We intend to develop the facility at our own expense and pay rent to the municipal corporation. We are not seeking any handouts,” Shah said.He said the objective was to provide local youngsters with access to quality training facilities and help nurture future cricketers.
