Ajit Pawar meets Fadnavis after son is linked to Rs 300-crore Pune land deal

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the latter’s official residence Varsha, a day after a company linked to Pawar’s eldest son Parth Pawar came under scrutiny in connection with an alleged illegal land transaction in Pune worth around Rs 300 crore.

Pawar was accompanied by senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare at the half-hour meeting, which government sources described as “informal but significant”. The meeting came just hours after the Maharashtra government ordered a high-level probe into the deal and suspended two revenue officials accused of irregularities.

According to media reports, the controversy centres on the sale of about 40 acres of mahar watan (state-owned) land in the Mundhwa area of Pune. The plot was allegedly transferred to a firm identified as Amadea Enterprises LLP, which has been linked in media reports to Parth Pawar. The land’s market value is estimated at around Rs 1,800 crore, though the deal was reportedly executed for roughly Rs 300 crore.

The government on Thursday ordered an inquiry headed by revenue department additional chief secretary Vikas Kharge, following initial findings that suggested violations of land laws governing the sale of mahar watan property. A sub-registrar and a tehsildar involved in processing the registration have been suspended, and an FIR registered against multiple individuals allegedly connected to the transaction.

Fadnavis told reporters that the allegations were “prima facie very serious” and said his government would take “strict action if wrongdoing is confirmed”. “No one will be spared if the inquiry establishes violations,” he said.

Ajit Pawar, meanwhile, distanced himself from the deal, insisting that neither he nor his office had any role in the transaction. “I have no connection with this land deal. I have never used my position to influence any official. If anyone has done anything wrong, they should face the law,” he said, speaking to reporters after the meeting.

The Opposition has seized on the controversy, demanding an independent judicial probe and questioning whether the government’s inquiry can be truly impartial given Pawar’s position in the coalition. Several leaders from the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have also pointed to the long history of questionable land conversions in Pune district and called for a wider investigation into similar transactions.

Officials familiar with the inquiry said investigators will examine how the land, classified as inalienable government property, was transferred to a private entity and whether stamp duty concessions or valuation discrepancies were used to enable the sale.

This is the second time in recent months that Ajit Pawar finds himself at the centre of a public controversy. In August, a viral video surfaced showing Ajit Pawar allegedly verbally threatening IPS officer Anjana Krishna, during a police operation against illegal murrum (soil used in road construction) extraction in Solapur district. The footage showed Pawar rebuking the officer over a phone call and asking her if she recognised his face, before telling her: “I will take action against you. How dare you speak to me like this?”

The Solapur district administration’s follow-up probe later vindicated the officer’s action against illegal mining and confirmed the operation was justified. Pawar has since defended his conduct, stating his intention was not to interfere with law enforcement but to prevent escalation on the ground.