PUNE, Nov. 7 -- A Rs.300-crore land deal in Pune linked to the son of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is raising a stink, forcing the state government to order an investigation into the 40-acre plot in the Mundhwa locality, near the upscale Koregaon Park. The land, sold to Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Ajit Pawar's son Parth is a partner, was executed on May 20, 2025. The deal went through even though the plot constitutes Mahar Watan land, and thus belongs to the state government. As such, it should not have been sold to a private company, a government official told HT. In another questionable move, stamp duty worth Rs.21 crore was waived on the transaction. The purchaser paid only Rs.500 to get the deal registered, documents revealed. Additionally, while the plot sold for Rs.300 crore, its market value is estimated to be Rs.1,800 crore. Under pressure from the Opposition to explain these alleged irregularities, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Nagpur on Thursday that an investigation is being conducted as "prima facie, the issue appears serious". "I have sought all the information from the relevant departments. Orders have been given to conduct a probe. I can speak about it and the action to be taken only after getting all the details," Fadnavis said. According to Inspector General of Registration, Ravindra Binwade, the investigation will be conducted by a committee headed by the joint inspector-general of registration, and a report will be submitted within ten days. Action has been taken against two revenue officials - an inquiry has been initiated into Pune city tehsildar Suryakant Yeole, while the sub-registrar at the Land Registration Office in Pune where the transaction was executed, Ravindra Taru, has been suspended. The sub-registrar had registered the land transaction without the required clearances. He was required to verify whether a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the competent authority had been attached before registration, a step that was skipped. Mahar Watan land refers to agricultural land historically allotted by the colonial British government in Maharashtra to the Mahar and Ramoshi communities in lieu of salaries for service to the village administration. The system was abolished by the then Bombay state in 1958, transferring such land to government ownership. Documents accessed by HT reveal that the 40-acre plot had been transferred in the names of private individuals, who subsequently sold it to Amadea Enterprises. In the agreement, 272 individuals sold the Mundhwa land to Amadea through a power of attorney granted to Shital Tejwani, a Pune resident. Sources in the revenue department claimed that the 7/12 extract, a key property document, lists the land under the name of "Mumbai Sarkar" (the then Bombay state), effectively the state revenue department. "The property cards, however, show the names of private owners, who sold it to the firm," they added. The documents reviewed by HT also show that the address of Amadea Enterprises and that of Parth Pawar's residence in Pune's Yawant Nagar were the same. Ajit Pawar on Thursday admitted that the bungalow located at this address is in Parth's name. The registration papers listed Amadea Enterprises as the buyer, while Digvijay Amarsinh Patil, the other partner in the company, signed the documents. On the charge that stamp duty too had been waived, Binwade said, "The documents submitted to claim the exemption will be checked. The committee (investigating the deal) will also verify what documents were produced during registration. As an immediate step, we have suspended the sub-registrar because, if it is government land, registration should not have taken place." While Parth Pawar did not respond to phone calls or text messages, Ajit Pawar said, "I don't know anything about the deal. I will get all details and share my reaction tomorrow. I will not support anything done in violation of rules." State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said his department would examine the alleged deal only after receiving a formal complaint. He told the media that activist Anjali Damania had called him earlier on Thursday to inform him about the alleged land deal and said she would file a written complaint by November 11. "The industries department offers waivers or relief. That department will have to provide all the relevant details. Instead of making any statements now, I will wait till November 11," he said....