Parth Pawar land row: Tehsildar issued 'illegal' eviction notice to Botanical Survey of India

Pune: Days after the controversial 40-acre Pune land deal by a firm linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth, a now-suspended tehsildar had asked the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), a long-time tenant, to vacate it.

In an eviction notice to the BSI, the then tehsildar Suryakant Yeole had informed the central organisation that the company, Amadea Enterprises LLP, had “legally” acquired the property. Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said the notice was "illegal".

The sale of the land in the city's upscale Mundhwa area for Rs 300 crore to Amadea, in which Parth Pawar is a majority partner, is under scrutiny amid allegations of irregularities and a lack of requisite clearances. The Opposition has alleged that its market value was Rs 1,800 crore.

According to copies of official documents accessed by PTI, the sale deed for the 40-acre ‘Mahar Watan’ land, denoting hereditary landholding to the Mahar (scheduled caste) community, was executed by Amadea on May 20 this year.

Six days later, the company requested Yeole to get the land vacated.

On June 9, Yeole wrote to the Joint Director of BSI, saying their lease had come to an end, citing a “re-grant” clause in the agreement.

“We inform you that on December 20, 2024, the original landowners duly deposited the occupancy price. Consequently, it is appropriate and necessary for your office to formally notify the Botanical Survey of India, Pune, directing it to vacate the land immediately, as the lease agreement now stands terminated,” said the notice sent by Yeole.

As per records, the land was originally leased to the BSI in 1973. The first lease was for 15 years, and it was later extended for 50 years from 1988, with certain terms and conditions and an annual rent of Re 1.

Yeole, who was later suspended over alleged irregularities in another land case, informed the Sub-Divisional Officer on July 14 about his communication to BSI, updating him on the status of the land and lease termination.

The eviction notice prompted a BSI team to meet Pune collector Dudi.

The collector said the district administration then intervened and restrained Yeole from taking any further action. It also initiated an inquiry against him in the Mundhwa land case.

He said Yeole issued the notice on the basis of claims made by the original ‘watandars’ -- 272 ‘owners’ -- that they had paid the “occupancy price” through demand drafts and that the 40-acre plot granted to the government now belonged to them.

Amadea had executed the deal for the land with one Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 ‘owners’ through power of attorney).

“However, the entire process of issuing an eviction notice was illegal. I wrote to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and asked him to take necessary action, and the process of eviction and physical handover of the land to Amadea Enterprises LLP did not take place,” said Dudi.

A clause in the lease agreement with the BSI says that if the government ever re-grants this land, it will have to honour the decision, said Dudi.

“These ‘landowners’ interpreted this clause to suit their convenience and claimed that since they had paid money to the government to reclaim the land, it now belonged to them. But this was incorrect. In fact, during our scrutiny, it was revealed that no DDs had been submitted,” he said.

The official said there is a defined process to re-grant government land. “Tehsildar Yeole should have understood the process and acted accordingly. Since his actions were wrong, an inquiry was initiated, and the entire process was stalled,” he said.

Despite the sale deed, on which a stamp duty of Rs 21 crore was waived, the land continues to remain in the name of the government, he said.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has said that the deal has been scrapped. He has claimed that Parth was unaware that the land purchased by his firm belonged to the government.

Based on a complaint filed by the Inspector General of Registrar's office, the Pimpri Chinchwad police registered an FIR against Digvijay Patil, Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 'owners' of the land through the power of attorney), and sub-registrar R B Taru, who has also been suspended, for alleged misappropriation and cheating.