Pathan gets notice for ‘land encroachment’

THE Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), governed by the BJP, has issued a notice to Yusuf Pathan, a former Indian cricketer and recently elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP, accusing him of encroaching on a piece of land claimed by the civic body.

Although the notice was delivered to Pathan on June 6, VMC's standing committee chairman, Shital Mistry, brought attention to the matter during a media briefing on Thursday, following former BJP corporator Vijay Pawar's spotlight on it, PTI reported.

Pathan, a former all-rounder, won the Lok Sabha elections from the Baharampur constituency, with the results announced on June 4.

Earlier in the day, Pawar, addressing reporters, claimed that despite the state government's rejection of VMC's proposal to sell the plot to Pathan in 2012, the newly elected MP had allegedly encroached on the land by erecting a compound wall.

“I don't have any grudge against Yusuf Pathan. A plot in the Tanadalja area under TP 22 is a residential plot owned by VMC. In 2012, Pathan demanded this plot from VMC because his house, which was under construction then, was adjacent to that plot. He had offered nearly ₹57,000 per square metre,” Pawar told reporters.

The VMC cleared the proposal at that time, and it was passed in the general board meeting. However, the state government, which is the final authority in such matters, did not give its approval, said Pawar.

"Though the proposal was rejected, the VMC did not put up a fence around the plot. Then I learnt that Pathan had encroached upon the plot by constructing a compound wall around it. Thus, I have asked the municipal corporation to conduct an inquiry,” said Pawar.

Mistry affirmed the series of events that culminated in the state government's refusal to sanction the sale of the 978-square-meter plot to Pathan. He further stated that Pathan had been served a notice regarding the alleged encroachment.

“Recently, we received some representations about him constructing a compound wall. Thus, on June 6, we served a notice to Pathan and asked him to remove all the encroachments. We will wait for a couple of weeks and then we will decide further course of action. This land belongs to VMC and we will claim it back,” Mistry asserted.