By Naysa Shrivastava
The Maharashtra government has launched a high-level investigation into an alleged ₹1,800-crore land scam in Pune’s Mundhwa area, reportedly connected to Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The move follows an interim report by the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) that exposed major irregularities in the sale and registration of government-linked land.
According to the report sent to the Additional Chief Secretary in Mumbai, a 43-acre plot—originally listed under the ‘Mumbai Government’—was sold to Amedia Enterprises LLP, a company allegedly linked to Parth Pawar, for just ₹300 crore, despite a market valuation of around ₹1,800 crore. The land had been leased to the Indian Botanical Survey until 2038 at a nominal annual rent of ₹1, indicating continued government ownership.
Investigators found that the sale deed was executed between Power of Attorney holder Sheetal Tejwani, representing 272 individuals, and Amedia Enterprises LLP for developing a data centre. Shockingly, the stamp duty on the transaction, which should have been nearly ₹21 crore, was reduced to just ₹500. Even with possible exemptions for data centre projects, the registration process violated financial norms and caused heavy losses to the state exchequer.
The interim report has identified severe procedural lapses by then Joint Sub-Registrar Ravindra Taru, who registered the deed without obtaining mandatory government permissions or a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Taru has been suspended, and criminal cases are being prepared against the Power of Attorney holder, Amedia Enterprises LLP, and other parties involved.
A high-level committee has been formed to conduct a detailed probe into the Stamp Duty and Registration Department’s role and assess total revenue losses. The committee has been directed to submit its final report within eight days.