Owner of Di lip Kumar's Pak home seeks Rs 25 cr

The owner of legendary actor Dilip Kumar's ancestral house in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province refused to sell it at a rate fixed by the government, saying he would demand Rs 25 crore for the prime location property which is severely undervalued by the authorities.

The provincial government last month fixed the price of the four marla (101 square metre) house, declared as a national heritage, in Peshawar at Rs 80.56 lakh. Marla, a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is considered as equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square metres.

The owner, Haji Lal Muhammad, said he would demand Rs 25 crore from the provincial government for the property as and when approached by the Peshawar administration. Muhammad said he had purchased the property in 2005 for Rs 51 lakh after completing all formalities required for transfer of the land and possesses all the documents of the house.

He said it is unjust on part of the government to fix the rate at Rs 80.56 lakh for the property after 16 years.

The property is very expensive in Mohallah Khudadad qissa Khwani bazar where the rate of one Marla land is above Rs 5 crore, he said, adding he would demand Rs 25 crore through his lawyer from authorities for house.