CM orders probe into land deal linked to Ajit Pawar’s son; Officials suspended

Pune, Nov 6 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday formed an inquiry committee to probe the allegations of irregularities in a Pune land deal involving a company linked to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar.

Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge will head the probe panel, an official said.

The state government also suspended a tehsildar and a sub-registrar in the case, after the Opposition alleged that the land worth Rs 1,800 crore was sold to Amadea Enterprises, the company linked to Parth Pawar, at Rs 300 crore.

Fadnavis termed the land transaction “prima facie serious”, while Ajit Pawar denied any links with the deal.

Parth Pawar is yet to respond to the allegations.

Talking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he has sought all information in the case from the relevant departments. Orders have been given to conduct a probe, he said.

“The chief minister should definitely probe this. It is his right,” Ajit Pawar told reporters in the evening. “I am not even remotely connected to this (land deal),” he said.

“Three-four months ago, I heard that some such things were going on. I had then clearly said that I won’t tolerate any such wrongdoing. I had issued clear instructions that nobody should do such wrong things. I don’t know what happened after that,” Ajit Pawar said.

He said he has never called or instructed any officer to ensure benefits for his relatives.

“I wish to make clear to officers that I won’t support any wrong actions by anyone citing my name to get their work done,” he said.

“When your children grow up, they do their own business,” he added.

Tehsildar Suryakant Yewale from Pune has been suspended with immediate effect over the controversial deal that has prompted the Opposition to target the ruling Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

The Opposition alleged that Amadea Enterprises purchased 40 acre land in Pune’s Mundhwa area. The land was categorised as Mahar watan land, denoting hereditary landholding to Mahar (scheduled caste) community. Such land cannot be sold without prior approval from the state government.

An official said the stamp duty on the transaction was waived. Being government land, it cannot be sold to a private firm, he said.

Inspector General of Registration Ravindra Binwade told PTI that the high-level committee will find out how the government land was sold to a private firm and ascertain whether the exemption was given as per the norms.

“The documents submitted to claim the exemption will be checked. The committee will also see documents produced during registration. We have suspended a sub-registrar-rank official. If it is government land, the registration should not have taken place,” he said.

Sources in the revenue department claimed that on the ‘7/12 extract’, a key property document, the land is in the name of ‘Mumbai Sarkar’.

Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said activist Anjali Damania had called to inform him about the alleged transaction, and that she would file a written complaint with him by November 11.

The Opposition attacked the BJP-led government over the land deal.

Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar demanded a judicial inquiry into the transaction, claiming it was done in violation of the law.

He said the file related to the deal moved “at rocket speed” through government departments. “Within hours, the Directorate of Industries not only approved the transfer of land to the company for an IT park and data centre but also waived stamp duty of Rs 21 crore,” he claimed.

“Ajit Pawar, who often questions for how long farmers will get things for free, has now ensured free land and tax waivers for his son’s firm,” Wadettiwar said, and claimed that similar land deals in Pune could amount to a Rs 1 lakh crore scam.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve claimed that the land bought by Amadea is worth Rs 1,800 crore. He said the company passed a resolution on April 22 to set up an IT park and submitted a proposal to the government despite “having a capital of Rs 1 lakh”.

Industries Minister Uday Samant said his department did not grant any waiver in stamp duty for the land.

Samant claimed baseless reports that the company was given a stamp duty waiver and the transaction was completed for merely Rs 500.

The company has not applied to the Industries Department for any stamp duty concession under the Information Technology and IT-enabled Services Policy, 2023, Samant told reporters.

“Issuing a Letter of Intent (LoI) does not mean that a waiver or concession has been approved. It is only a preliminary step for eligibility verification. No financial benefit is granted through it,” he said.

The minister added that a cabinet sub-committee takes calls on waivers and incentives. PTI SPK CLS AW MR ND NR VT VT