Criminal case, government probe will continue: CM Devendra Fadnavis on Pune land scam

Mumbai: The property deal involving the controversial government-reserved land may have been scrapped but the government and police probe will continue, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

“The entire inquiry will be completed within a month, identifying all the people involved and based on that, further action will be taken,” Fadnavis told reporters on Friday night.

The deal relates to Survey No 88 in Mouje Mundhwa adjacent to the Koregaon Park area of Pune involving Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar.

It is alleged that 40 acres of Mahar Watan land, denoting hereditary landholding to Mahar (Scheduled Caste) community was sold to Amadea Enterprises LLP, represented by Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil, for Rs 300 crore, and the stamp duty on it was waived.

The market value of the property is said to be Rs 1,800 crore.

“The concerned land is government land, which cannot be sold. Parth and his partner Digvijay Patil were not aware of this fact. How the registration (of its sale) was done and who is responsible will come out in the probe after the committee submits its report in a month," Pawar told reporters in Mumbai denying any link or knowledge about the transaction.

Responding to a barrage of questions in Nagpur, Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister said, ”There was an agreement between the parties, but the exchange of money was still pending. However, the registry had already been completed. Both parties have now filed an application to cancel the registry. As per procedure, they are required to pay certain fees to cancel it, and accordingly, a notice has been issued to them.”

According to him, further action will be taken after that. “The criminal case that has been filed will not end. The irregularities that have occurred will still be investigated, and whoever is responsible will face action. Along with this, a parallel inquiry is also being conducted under the Additional Chief Secretary. The entire inquiry will be completed within a month, identifying all the people involved and based on that, further action will be taken,” he said.