Yusuf Pathan faces controversy as approval advances for disputed Rs 20 crore plot

VADODARA: Former India cricketer and politician Yusuf Pathan has come under renewed scrutiny after the Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s standing committee approved a proposal to allot him a disputed residential plot valued at around Rs 20 crore, despite protests from Congress workers.

The decision, approved on Friday, advances a Gujarat government proposal for a 978-square-meter plot in Vadodara’s Tandalja area, adjacent to Pathan’s residential bungalow. The proposal must still receive approval from the municipal corporation’s general body before it can be finalized.

Under the arrangement, Pathan would receive 500 square meters of land, and he would pay 55% of the assessed value of the remaining portion. The Gujarat government would compensate the municipal corporation for the gifted land.

The proposal has triggered political criticism, with opposition Congress leaders questioning the use of public land for an individual.

Congress protests over public land

Congress workers staged a sit-in outside the standing committee meeting hall, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led municipal administration of favoring Pathan through the proposed allotment.

Vadodara Congress president Rutvij Joshi questioned the decision, alleging that the former cricketer was being given land worth about Rs 20 crore without charge. Some reports have placed the property’s value at around Rs 15 crore.

The controversy has renewed questions about how public land is treated and the terms under which the proposed transfer would take place.

However, the standing committee’s approval does not complete the process. The proposal must now go before the municipal corporation’s general body for a final decision.

Land dispute dates back to 2024

The latest development follows a long-running legal dispute over the property.

In 2024, a single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court declared Pathan an encroacher on the plot and directed him to vacate it. Pathan challenged the ruling but withdrew his petition in August 2026 after a division bench questioned the encroachment.

The subsequent government proposal to allot the land brought the matter back into the political spotlight, with Congress leaders challenging the rationale behind the arrangement.

The latest municipal approval is a significant step toward resolving the land’s status, though the final outcome still depends on the general body’s decision.

Pathan’s political journey under scrutiny

The controversy comes months after Pathan reportedly left the Trinamool Congress and aligned with a group of 20 MPs associated with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, moving toward the National Democratic Alliance.

Pathan, who represented India in international cricket, played on teams that won the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. He entered electoral politics in 2024, winning the Baharampur parliamentary constituency in West Bengal.

The land proposal has put the former cricketer at the center of a fresh political dispute, raising questions about public property, municipal decision-making, and political accountability.

For now, the standing committee’s approval has advanced the proposal but has not settled the controversy. The municipal corporation’s general body will determine whether the proposed allotment proceeds.