Gujarat approves conditional allotment of Pathan plot

The Gujarat government has approved a conditional proposal to allot former cricketer and Lok Sabha member Yusuf Pathan part of a disputed 978-square-metre municipal plot in Vadodara, with 500 square metres designated as a gift and the remaining 478 square metres offered at 55% of an assessed rate. The allotment is not final: the Vadodara Municipal Corporation must still consider the proposal through its Standing Committee and General Board, and the amount Pathan would pay has not been settled. The plot, in Vadodara’s Tandalja locality beside Pathan’s family home, has been the subject of a dispute since 2012, when he sought a 99-year lease. The municipal corporation initially approved the proposal, but Gujarat’s Urban Development Department rejected it in 2014 because it would have bypassed a public auction. The Vadodara Urban Development Authority Valuation Committee assessed the land at ₹2.10 lakh per square metre on March 17, 2026. That puts the plot’s estimated market value at about ₹20.53 crore. The figure is a valuation, not a finalized amount due from Pathan; municipal commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu said the civic body would examine the state government’s order before...