Mumbai Property Sold In 1957 For . 18L Now Valued At . 1,800 cr
A royal regret – that’s what the erstwhile rulers of Wankaner state near Rajkot felt when they found out that the US government was planning to sell Lincoln House, their consulate in Mumbai at Breach Candy.
Lincoln House was originally Wankaner House, a sprawling property of the royalty, which was leased to the US government for Rs 18 lakh in 1957. Today, its value is being worked out to be anywhere between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 1,800 crore.
“The huge appreciation in land prices in the last five decades has proved that we sealed one of the worst deals of selling a royal mansion,” said Digvijaysinh Jhala, the senior most member of the family, who lives in Ranjitvilas palace in Wankaner.
“At the same time I look at it as one of the biggest donations an Indian citizen may have made to the world’s richest nation.” Jhala savours his childhood memories of playing in the mansion in what is one of Mumbai’s most expensive real estate.
“Once belonging to the Maharaja of Wankaner Pratapsinhji (his father), this 8,345 sq m plot was given on a 999-year lease to the US government,” Jhala added. “They have full control over it now.” He says he does not have any lease documents with him now and does not plan to challenge the sale. Jhala was also invited to Mumbai in 2008 when the consulate celebrated completing 50 years in Mumbai.
In fact, a legal dispute is already brewing with the Mumbai unit of the Indian Army’s Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa headquarters laying claim to the Lincoln House land. Legal experts say that according to the lease agreement clauses, the consulate can’t sell or sublease the property as it would mean violating the lease conditions. The Centre now has to decide whether to allow the US authorities to sell the land or not, even as a string of buyers line up.
