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

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 termed the land transaction "prima facie serious" and said he has sought information concerning the case from relevant departments, Ajit Pawar insisted he was in 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.

The government has suspended a sub-registrar and set up a high-level committee under Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge to investigate alleged irregularities in the land deal, said officials.

Parth Pawar is yet to respond to the allegations.

The office of Inspector General of Registration (IGP) issued an order suspending RB 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 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 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,” 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, has been shown 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.

The registered documents included a letter of intent issued by the Zilla Udyog Kendra and a notification issued on February 1, 2024, by revenue and forest departments was also attached.

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."

State BJP minister Nitesh Rane asserted, "Our party will not tolerate anything like this. 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.

"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 MIDC. 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.

The purchase of land by the company of Parth Pawar must be investigated in a transparent manner, he demanded.

He claimed 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 that "nothing substantial will come out" of the probe and the government will eventually give a "clean chit" to those involved.

Thackeray's party colleague Ambadas Danve claimed the land bought by the firm linked to Parth Pawar is worth Rs 1,800 crore. He said the firm 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.