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

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 issued a notice asking the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) to vacate the land. The central agency has been a long-standing tenant on the parcel since the 1970s. The notice was issued in the name of Amadea Enterprises LLP where Parth Pawar is a majority partner claiming the firm had acquired the property legally. However, Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi later clarified that the eviction notice itself was “illegal” and without the authority of due process. The Opposition alleges the land value was massively undervalued at Rs 300 crore against an estimated market valuation of nearly Rs 1,800 crore. The matter has triggered a huge political row in Maharashtra, coming amid increasing scrutiny of land deals linked to political families.

According to official documents, the sale deed for the 40-acre ‘Mahar Watan’ land traditionally held by members of the Mahar Scheduled Caste community was executed by Amadea on May 20 this year. Six days after the registration, the company formally requested tehsildar Suryakant Yeole to get the land vacated. On June 9, Yeole wrote to the Joint Director of BSI, claiming the lease agreement had ended based on a “re-grant” clause, and asked the agency to vacate immediately. The land was originally leased to BSI in 1973, first for 15 years, and later extended for 50 years from 1988 with certain conditions and an annual rent of just Re 1. Yeole, who has since been suspended in another land case, also wrote to the Sub-Divisional Officer informing him of the lease termination claim made to BSI. This triggered concern within BSI and officials rushed to meet the Pune Collector seeking urgent clarification.

The collector said the district administration immediately intervened, restrained Yeole from taking any further action, and initiated an inquiry into the Mundhwa land matter. Dudi said the eviction notice was based on claims made by the original ‘watandars’ around 272 individuals who alleged they had paid the “occupancy price” through demand drafts and that the land had reverted to them from the government. Amadea executed the land purchase deal through one Shital Tejwani, who represented the 272 ‘owners’ via a power of attorney. But Dudi said the claim was false and the entire interpretation of the clause was “deliberately twisted” to suit private interests. During scrutiny, the administration found that no such demand drafts were ever actually submitted. Dudi said there is a defined legal process for re-grant of government land, and Yeole acted against the procedure.

Despite the sale deed being registered and stamp duty of Rs 21 crore being waived, the land continues to be officially recorded in the government’s name. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has said the deal has since been cancelled. He has also claimed that Parth was unaware that the land purchased by the firm belonged to the government and not private individuals. Based on a complaint filed by the Inspector General of Registration office, Pimpri Chinchwad police have registered an FIR against Digvijay Patil, Shital Tejwani, and suspended sub-registrar R B Taru for alleged misappropriation and cheating. The case is now expected to expand further as agencies go deeper into the roles played by intermediaries, watandar claimants and officials involved. This case also raises wider debate over heritage watan tenure land in Maharashtra and the manner in which private entities are exploiting loopholes to attempt commercial capture.