Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule Urges Opposition To Await High-Level Panel’s Report On ₹300-Crore Pune Land Deal Before Targeting Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

Mumbai: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday urged the Opposition to wait for a month until the high-level committee submits its report on the Rs 300-crore Pune land deal by a firm linked to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth.

Responding to opposition leaders demanding Ajit Pawar's resignation, Bawankule told reporters that the state government has already taken swift action by setting up a five-member committee, headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge, to investigate the matter.

"The committee will submit its report in one month. Once the report is received, action will be taken against everyone found involved. Instead of indulging in allegations and counter-allegations, it is better to wait for the report," he said.

The Rs 300-crore deal for a 40-acre plot involving a firm linked to Parth Pawar has been embroiled in charges of irregularities and set off a political row. Beyond the probe, a sub-registrar has been suspended, and an FIR has been registered against three persons.

Bawankule said the FIR does not name Parth Pawar because he was not physically present at the sub-registrar's office when the documents were signed. "He may have stakes in the company, but the FIR names those who actually signed the papers during registration," the minister said.

According to an official, 40 acres of 'Mahar Vatan' land, denoting hereditary landholding to the Mahar (scheduled caste) community, in Pune's upmarket Mundhwa area, was sold to Amadea Enterprises LLP, represented by its partner Digvijay Amarsinh Patil, and the stamp duty on it was waived. Parth Pawar is also a partner in the firm.

The Kharge-led panel, constituted on the directions of Chief Fadnavis, will examine how this land was sold to the private firm, said officials.

The state government has suspended a sub-registrar from Pune's Haveli No. 4 office for alleged irregularities in document registration. According to the Opposition, the stamp duty of Rs 21 crore was waived on this deal.

Fadnavis on Thursday described the transaction as "prima facie serious" and said he had directed officials to furnish all details. "I have ordered a probe and sought information from the relevant departments," he said in Nagpur.

Ajit Pawar has denied any link to the transaction, saying, "I am not even remotely connected to this land deal. The Chief Minister should definitely probe it. That is his right." Pawar added that he had previously issued instructions that no irregularities be tolerated. "I have never called or instructed any officer to benefit my relatives. When your children grow up, they do their own business," he said.

Industries Minister Uday Samant has said his department was not involved in the alleged waiver. "He (Parth Pawar) will respond to all allegations. My department had nothing to do with the incentives or waivers. Whether the land belonged to the government or any other authority must be verified," Samant had said earlier.

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

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has demanded a judicial inquiry, alleging that the land transfer and waiver approvals were processed at "rocket speed" through government departments.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and auto-generated from an agency feed.)