Ajit Pawar's son 'lands' in trouble over Rs 300cr Pune deal; govt orders probe, suspends official

Pune | A Rs 300-crore land deal in Pune involving a firm linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth was embroiled in charges of irregularities and set off a political row, prompting the state government to order a high-level probe and suspend a sub-registrar.

While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday termed the land transaction "prima facie serious" and said he has sought information concerning the case from relevant departments, Ajit Pawar insisted he was no way connected with the controversial deal.

The Opposition slammed the ruling Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Ajit Pawar's NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and demanded a judicial inquiry into the deal.

The government has suspended a sub-registrar and set up a high-level committee to investigate alleged irregularities in the land deal. Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge will head the probe panel formed on Fadnavis's instructions, they said.

Parth Pawar is yet to respond to the allegations.

The office of Inspector General of Registration (IGP) issued an order suspending R B Taru, Sub-Registrar attached to Haveli No. 4 office in Pune district, for irregularities in document registration and causing a loss to the state exchequer.

The action against Taru was based on a report submitted by the Joint District Registrar and Collector (Stamps), said the order.

According to an official, 40 acres of Mahar Vatan land belonging to the government in Pune's upmarket Mundhwa area was sold to a private firm, Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth Pawar is a partner, for Rs 300 crore, and the stamp duty on it was waived.

Being government land, the plot cannot be sold to a private firm, he explained.

Inspector General of Registration Ravindra Binwade said the probe panel will find out how the government land was sold to a private firm and ascertain whether the exemption was given as per norms.

“The documents submitted to claim the exemption will be checked. The committee will see what sort of documents were produced during registration. But as an immediate action, we have suspended a sub-registrar-rank official. If it is government land, the registration should not have taken place,” Binwade told PTI.

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'.

Besides Parth Pawar, Digvijay Patil, in whose name the registration has taken place, has been show as a co-partner in the private firm.

According to the IGR office order, the sub-registrar (Taru) should have registered documents only after verifying that the NOC from the competent authority was attached. In this case, the documents were registered without the NOC, resulting in “serious irregularities,” as observed prima facie.

“Accordingly, the document was registered at Rs 500 while availing the exemption. However, though

the exemption could have been allowed, there is a separate 2 per cent levy -- 1 per cent local body cess and 1 per cent metro cess - amounting to Rs 6 crore, which cannot be waived. Therefore, this resulted in a loss to the state exchequer,” the order stated.

A senior official from district collectorate said a tehsildar-rank officer, Suryakant Yewale, suspended in another case, was also under the scanner in the present land deal.

He said the district administration has initiated an inquiry against Yewale for allegedly allowing the transfer of Mahar Watan land in the names of private individuals who subsequently sold it to Amadea.

In the agreement, 272 individuals sold the Mundhwa land to Amadea through a power of attorney granted to Shital Tejwani, a Pune resident. Yewale had been suspended in another case in 2024 for irregularities in a separate land transaction, said the official.

Talking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis said, "Prime facie, the issue looks serious. I've sought information concerning the case from relevant departments. Orders have been given to conduct a probe."

Ajit Pawar separately told reporters he had nothing to do with the entire matter.

“I am not even remotely connected to this (land deal). The chief minister should definitely probe this. It is his right,” Ajit Pawar asserted.

“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,” the deputy CM maintained.

Ajit Pawar, who holds finance, planning and excise portfolios, made it clear 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. When your children grow up, they do their own business,” the NCP president stated.

State BJP minister Nitesh Rane asserted, "Zero tolerance for corruption is the style of Chief Minister Fadnavis. Nobody will be spared."

Industries Minister Uday Samant defended Parth Pawar, saying his documents were in order.

"He (Parth Pawar) will respond to all allegations. My department had nothing to do with the incentives and waivers given to the firm. Whether it belongs to the government or any other authority needs to be checked," Samant said.

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

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

He alleged 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, the Congress MLA claimed.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said in Latur "nothing substantial will come out" of the probe and the government will eventually give a "clean chit" to those involved.