The Maharashtra Government has suspended a revenue official over a Rs 300-crore land deal in Pune, allegedly involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar, and set up a high-level committee to investigate it, officials said on Thursday.
Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge will head the probe committee, formed on the instructions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, they said.
Fadnavis has termed the land transaction “prima facie serious”. 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.
According to an official, 40 acres of “Mahar Vatan land belonging to the government” in Pune’s upmarket Mundhwa area was sold to 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 said.
Inspector General of Registration Ravindra Binwade said 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 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,” 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’.
Besides Parth Pawar, Digvijay Patil, in whose name the registration has taken place, is the co-partner in the firm. Talking to reporters in Nagpur earlier in the day, Fadnavis said, “Prime facie, the issue looks serious. I’ve sought all information concerning the case from the relevant departments. Orders have been given to conduct a probe. I can speak about it and the action to be taken after getting all the details.”
According to RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, the land parcel was allegedly purchased for about Rs 300 crore by a company linked to Parth Pawar despite its market rate being “considerably higher”. He also claimed that “the stamp duty of Rs 21 crore on this deal was waived”. “Why are some people more equal than others?” he asked in a social post on Wednesday.
Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had said in the morning that his department would examine the alleged land deal only after receiving a complaint. He 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.
“The purchase of land by the company of Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, must be investigated in a transparent manner,” he claimed.
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.
“Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who often questions how long farmers will get things for free, has now ensured free land and tax waivers for his son’s firm,” Wadettiwar said, further claiming 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 the private company 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”.
Danve also alleged that the transaction was completed in just 27 days, and the Industries Department waived the stamp duty.
Industries Minister Uday Samant said Parth Pawar’s “documents are in order”.
“I have spoken to him. He will respond to all allegations. My department had nothing to do with the incentives and waivers given to the firm. The land doesn’t belong to the MIDC. Whether it belongs to the government or any other authority needs to be checked,” he said.
The minister added that a cabinet sub-committee takes calls on waivers and incentives.
The purchase of land by the company of Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, must be investigated in a transparent manner
—Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress leader
