A house for Mr Ambani

Mukesh Ambani: Housing woes?

It has been the most talked about residential property in India for sometime now. Housed in Mumbai's upmarket Altamount Road, Mukesh Ambani's 27-floor residence, currently under construction, is in a bit of a bother. Antilia, as it will be called, is a 4,532 square metre piece of land, which was bought by a company called Antilia Commercial, owned by Ambani, in 2002 for around Rs 20 crore.

It now transpires that the land belongs to the Wakf Board and questions are being raised over the deal. The Maharashtra government has termed the transaction as "illegal" and has issued a show cause notice to the Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Board for the Wakfs. The alleged irregularities in the sale of the land, as alleged by the government, is something that the Wakf Board will have to clarify on. The original owner of the property is said to be the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Orphanage. As things stand, the Wakf Board has now issued a notice to Antilia Commercial asking why the property should not be restored to the Wakf Board as it was acquired in contravention of the Wakf rules.

The Ambani house, as envisaged, will be among the most extravagant residential projects in the country. Apart from a mammoth outlay of Rs 400 crore, the house is expected to have a six-floor parking, a health club, a swimming pool, an entertainment centre and helipads. When contacted by BT, the Reliance Industries spokesperson declined to comment. For now, it appears to be a bit of a battle for Ambani and it will be interesting to see what becomes of his dream project.