Parth firm will need to pay Rs 42 crore to scrap land deal; CM says nobody will be spared

Pune, Nov 8 (PTI) After Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced that the sale deed executed by his son Parth’s firm for a prime land in Pune has been scrapped, officials said the company will have to cough up double the stamp duty, which comes to Rs 42 crore, to get the transaction cancelled.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said action in the Pune land deal case is being taken as per law and there is no question of saving anybody.

FIRs have been filed against signatories and vendors and those found guilty in the probe will be booked, Fadnavis said, when asked about the First Information Report (FIR) not naming Parth.

“Those who don't even understand what an FIR is, are the ones making baseless allegations. When an FIR is registered, it is filed against the express parties involved. In this case, the FIR has been filed against the company and its authorised signatories,” he said.

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar said he supported a probe into the controversial land deal linked to the company of his grandnephew Parth.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal demanded that the state government release a 'white paper' on land transactions in Pune and Mumbai and hold a full-day discussion on the issue during the upcoming winter session of state legislature.

An official said the Department of Registration and Stamps has informed Digvijay Amarsinh Patil, the cousin of Parth Pawar and a partner in Amadea Enterprises LLP that the firm must pay the earlier 7 per cent stamp duty (5 per cent under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1 per cent Local Body Tax and 1 per cent Metro Cess), as it had sought an exemption by claiming a data centre was proposed on the land.

The company must also pay an additional 7 per cent stamp duty to execute the cancellation deed, the official said.

The firm had claimed a stamp duty exemption at the time of the sale deed by stating that a data centre would be set up on the land, he said. However, the cancellation deed shows that the plan has been dropped.

On Thursday, the sale deed of the 40-acre government land in the upscale Mundhwa area to Amadea Enterprises came under the scanner for want of required clearances. Opposition leaders alleged that its market value was Rs 1,800 crore.

Based on a complaint filed by the Inspector General of Registrar's office, the Pimpri Chinchwad police registered an FIR against Digvijay Patil, Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 'owners' of the land through the power of attorney), and sub-registrar R B Taru for alleged misappropriation and cheating.

Ajit Pawar on Friday claimed that Parth was unaware that the land purchased by his firm belonged to the government, and informed that the Rs 300 crore deal has now been cancelled.

Joint Sub Registrar, Class 2, A P Fulaware, in his order, said, "It is necessary to pay the stamp duty at the rate of 7 per cent (5 per cent under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1 per cent Local Body Tax + 1 per cent Metro Cess). Hence, the deficit stamp duty and penalty pertaining to the sale deed must be deposited with the Stamps Collector, Pune City, and the said document must be duly stamped." In the same letter, the official stated that to execute the cancellation deed of the said land, the firm will have to pay an additional 7 per cent stamp duty.

The letter clarified that the deed will only be cancelled once the stamp duty is paid.

Amadea Enterprises, a firm co-owned by Parth Pawar and his cousin Digvijay Patil, entered into an agreement with Shital Tejwani and executed the sale deed for Rs 300 crore.

The deal came under the scanner after it was revealed that the land belonged to 'Mumbai Sarkar', and while executing the deal, the firm had allegedly gotten the 7 per cent stamp duty waived by colluding with sub-registrar R B Taru, who executed the deal at the sub-registrar office.

The 7 per cent stamp duty for the Rs 300 crore deal comes to Rs 21 crore.

Talking to PTI, Joint Inspector General of Stamps and Registration, Rajendra Muthe, said Amadea had sought stamp duty exemption, citing that a data centre was proposed on the land.

"However, during scrutiny, it was revealed that an exemption cannot be given to such a proposal and hence, the firm will have to pay the original stamp duty of 7 per cent and an additional 7 per cent to execute the cancellation deed," he said.

Talking to reporters in Akola, Sharad Pawar said, "The chief minister has said publicly that the land deal matter is serious, so he should conduct a probe and put the facts before the public.” Asked if his nephew Ajit Pawar is being targeted politically by allies in ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP, the former Union minister said, "I wouldn't know.

Sharad Pawar also appeared not to agree with his daughter and NCP MP Supriya Sule's remarks on Parth. Sule had said she didn't think Parth would do anything wrong. "This could be her (Supriya's) view," he said.

He emphasised that the administration, politics, and family and different.

"As a family, we (Pawars) are one, but we are divided ideologically. One of my grandnephews had contested against Ajit Pawar, and Ajit Pawar's wife had contested against my daughter," he said. PTI SPK MR COR ARU BNM NSK VT VT