The lawyer of the owner of Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home in Peshawar, which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is planning to buy, has urged the authorities to not buy the house that is in dilapidated condition and repairing it would cost the same as acquiring it.

With an aim to turn the 100-year-old haveli of Dilip Kumar into a museum, the KPK government approved the release of Rs 80.56 lakh for acquiring it earlier in February.  

The haveli is in an extremely dilapidated condition due to negligence, said Gul Rahman Mohmand, lawyer of the present building owners, while talking to a private news channel on Tuesday. He compared the premises of the haveli to a “heap of garbage” and added that the reconstruction cost would double the cost of acquiring it. 

Also Read| The story of rise, fall and restoration of Dilip Kumar’s bungalow in Pakistan’s Peshawar

Mohmand further suggested that the KPK government should buy it at the current market rate that is around Rs 35 crore. He said, while defending his estimation, the house is located in an upscale locality, where the property rate is around Rs 7 crore per marla.

Marla, a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is considered equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square metres.

The KPK government will decide to convert the birthplace of Dilip Kumar, Bollywood’s tragedy king, into a museum to honour him, said Abdus Samad Khan, Director Archaeology, reports PTI. 

The veteran actor’s house is located in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar in Peshawar and was declared a national heritage in 2014 by the Nawaz Sharif government.