While the government debates who owns the two-acre plot of land on which Lincoln House, the erstwhile consulate of the US government stands in Bombay, industrialist Adar Poonawalla, who bid Rs 750 crores for the Breach Candy property and "paid a substantial portion of the bid amount to the US government,” four years ago (see "Platinum Poonawalla,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, October 7, 2015) has been "unable to take possession of it,” reported The Times of India (ToI) on August 30, 2019. The defence estates department of the union ministry of defence and the Maharashtra state government are both claiming ownership.
Lincoln House Photo: adarpoonawalla.com
Reportedly, permissions have been withheld without assigning reasons. "Stop harassing honest citizens and honest transactions,” Poonawalla was quoted in the news report. He told ToI that "the actions of the officers of the defence estates department are contrary to the Prime Minister’s ease-of-doing business policy.”
Bombay city collector and district magistrate Shivaji Jondhale stated that the state will earn 25% of the property’s market value when the transaction is registered. ToI stated that "earlier it was believed that the defence ministry had objected to the sale over ‘security threat.’” US consulate spokesperson Nick Novak told ToI that they "expect to be able to complete the transfer in the near future.”
The US consulate operated from Lincoln House from 1957, till it shifted to Bandra Kurla Complex in November 2011. The property was put on the market in 2011 with a reserve price of Rs 850 crores, but found few takers due to development restrictions, noted ToI.