Vadodara: Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has served a notice to Yusuf Pathan, former Indian cricketer and newly elected Trinamool Congress party MP from Behrampore Lok Sabha seat, instructing him to remove encroachments from a plot owned by VMC in Tandalja within 15 days. Pathan is required to vacate the plot by the given deadline or face potential demolition by VMC.

The plot, spanning 987 sq m (10,623 sq ft), is located in Tandalja TP Scheme No. 22 and is designated for residential use. Yusuf and Irfan Pathan had sought to purchase this plot to expand their adjacent property for a luxurious bungalow with gardens and amenities.

In March 2012, Yusuf Pathan applied to the Municipal Corporation to acquire the plot. The proposal, recommending allotting the plot to Pathan at a special rate for residential purposes, was prepared with the endorsement of the then Municipal Commissioner Ashwinikumar. It was subsequently presented in a standing committee meeting chaired by Dr. Vijay Shah on March 30, 2012, where it received unanimous approval. Following this, the proposal was further approved in a general body meeting held on June 8, 2012, under the chairmanship of Dr. Jyotiben Pandya.

The upset value of the plot was set at Rs 57,270 per square metre, amounting to a total value of Rs 5.60 crore. Later, the state government rejected the proposal to allot the plot to Yusuf Pathan, but the plot was encroached upon. The encroachment went unnoticed by VMC officials for years, but now VMC has asked Pathan to comply within the stipulated period, failing which VMC has warned of demolishing the encroachment. DeshGujarat