JUST FIVE months ago, the Pune Tesildar asked the central government’s Botanical Survey of India (BSI) to vacate 17.51 hectares, or 44 acres, of land in Mundhwa leased by the government after a firm 99% owned by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son informed his office that it had acquired the land.
“A few months ago, we received a letter asking us to release the land. After receiving the letter, we approached the Collector of Pune. He told us verbally that we need not worry and that he will look into the matter and do the needful,” Dr A Benniamin, scientist and head of BSI Pune, told Indian Express.
Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi confirmed receipt of the BSI complaint and said that while his office was aware of the eviction notice sent to the BSI, he was not aware that the sale agreement had already been executed.
A deed of sale was signed on 19 May 2025 between Sheetal Tejwani, who held a power of attorney on behalf of the 272 original owners of the 17.51 hectare watan land belonging to the Mahar community (now a Scheduled Caste) and a limited company owned by Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil. Before independence, villages in the state followed the vatan system, whereby individual castes or families received rights to land or income in lieu of money for certain services.
In fact, in a First Information Report filed by Pune’s Khadak Police Station, City Tehsildar Suryakant Yewale wrote to the “Assistant Director in the Deputy Director’s office” on June 9, 2025, stating that the 17.51 hectare land should be vacated. The FIR did not mention which department Evale wrote to, but said, “It shows that he is using his power illegally.”
The FIR, based on a complaint by Naib Tehsildar Pravina Borde, Pune, also said the land was “illegally” acquired by Amadea Enterprises, LLC, owned by Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil. It said Patil filed an “illegal” statement with Tehsildar Yevale that Amadea had purchased 17.51 acres of Koregaon land in Survey No. 88 at Mundhwa, Pune City Tehsil, from Sheetala Tejwani. In the FIR application, Patil had sought physical possession of the land.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced the formation of an inquiry committee to probe the alleged illegal sale of land, and an afternoon later said no one would be spared. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar told reporters on Friday that the sale agreement had been cancelled.
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The plot of land at the center of the dispute is leased by BSI. Benjamin, who is now in Delhi, said: “We were obviously surprised to receive the letter. But we were sure we were on a lease. If the collector asks us to release it, we have to do it, but if he doesn’t, why should we bother? We support and preserve some plants, some endangered species.”
The opposition alleges that land valued at around Rs 1,800 crore was illegally sold for just Rs 300 crore and the state exchequer was deprived of stamp duty of Rs 21 crore which was not paid.
BSI’s website says the 44-acre site at Mundhwa and another 5 acres attached to the head office at 7-Koregaon Road together house more than 500 plant species, various types of Western Ghats and West Coastal vegetation, and many endemic and endangered species. Pune is the headquarters of BSI’s Western Regional Centre, established in 1955 and conducting research in the hot biodiversity region of the Western Ghats.
Pune Collector Dudi told The Indian Express that the BSI had approached his office in June with a letter from the Tehsildar (Suryakant Yewale) asking the central government to hand over the land to the original watandars based on a letter given by the watandars to his office saying that they had paid the DD so they were now the rightful owners.
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“Based on this letter, the collectorate immediately wrote to the SDM and asked him to inquire about it and ensure that this illegal enforcement did not take place. At that time, it was stopped. Accordingly, we started collecting evidence against the tehsildar and necessary action was suggested against the tehsildar about a month ago. Based on this, the tehsildar was suspended yesterday and FIRs were registered in both the matters,” Dudi said.
According to Dudi, in December 2024, PoA owner Sheetal Tejwani sent a letter to his office demanding possession of the land. “The letter stated that they paid the money to our office through a DD. We checked and no such DD was received. It is important to note that the ownership of such land cannot be transferred at all. And even if it is some type of land that can be transferred, the government’s permission and khalan must be obtained first,” he said.
As reported in The Indian Express on Saturday, Rajendra Muthe, Maharashtra’s Inspector General of Registration, said the land belonged to the state government and could not be sold at any price. Muthe, who is assisting the inquiry committee, told The Indian Express, “The document dated 7/12 (land title document) showed Mumbai Sarkar (former Bombay government) as the owner. The title card issued after 2018 showed the same. A person holding a power of attorney cannot sell land at any price. We are checking everything and will submit a report to the state government in seven days.” “. His office is responsible for registering property documents and collecting stamp duties.
Dudi told The Indian Express on Friday that the sale deed was never executed as the land was owned by the government. Asked if it was the Inspector General of Registration’s duty to warn the collection about the sale, he said: “That’s a mistake… They should have got my permission… But there was no question of permission. Even the government can’t give permission.”
