Sale deed of govt land in Mundhwa should not have been executed: Ajit Pawar

Pune, Nov 8 (PTI) Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said the sale deed of government land purchased by his son's company in Pune should not have been executed, and added that the truth will come out in the inquiry ordered by the state government.

Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party and holds the finance portfolio, was speaking here two days after questions were raised about the illegal sale of 40 acres of land in the upscale Mundhwa area for Rs 300 crore to a company in which his son Parth Pawar is a partner. Two First Information Reports have been registered in the case, though Parth Pawar is not named in them.

"(Irrespective of) Whoever is involved, proper investigation must be conducted in the Mundhwa land deal. The inquiry has begun and all information will soon come out," Ajit Pawar said, talking to reporters after holding several official meetings in his capacity as guardian minister of Pune district.

"The actual transaction did not take place. The sale deed should not have been executed. I do not know how it was done. Whoever is involved, a proper investigation must be conducted. Allegations were made against me, but nothing was proven though I was severely slandered. Now, after the Chief Minister ordered an inquiry, two FIRs have been registered. The registrar's office is conducting an investigation," he added.

No due diligence or legal scrutiny had been conducted before executing the sale agreement, Pawar admitted.

It would also be investigated if anybody called government officials and tried to pressurise them, he said, while maintaining that no money changed hands as part of the land deal which has now been cancelled.

The Inspector General of Registration is looking into the case while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has taken a strict stand in the matter, Pawar noted.

On Thursday, the sale deed of the 40-acre government land to Amadea Enterprises came under the scanner for want of required clearances. Opposition leaders alleged that its market value was Rs 1,800 crore, and it could not have been sold without the government's permission.

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

Ajit Pawar on Friday had claimed that Parth was unaware that the land purchased by his firm belonged to the government. PTI COR KRK