Mundhwa land deal: Damania deposes before Kharge panel
Damania made a 98-page submission to the committee headed by additional chief secretary (revenue) Vikas Kharge, on Thursday
MUMBAI: Social activist Anjali Damania deposed before the committee appointed by the state government to investigate the allegedly fraudulent Mundwa land deal linked to Parth Pawar, son of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
Damania made a 98-page submission to the committee headed by additional chief secretary (revenue) Vikas Kharge, on Thursday. The committee is probing the deal, where a sale deed was registered by Amadea Enterprises, a company co-owned by Parth, for a 40-acre plot owned by the state government.
In her submission, Damania said she had provided documents to prove that the land was not in the possession of the Gaikwad family, the original owners before the government acquired the land when the feudal Mahar Watan system was abolished. Part of this land is occupied by the Botanical Survey of India, a central government agency.
Addressing the media after her deposition, Damania demanded the suspension of Pune collector Jitendra Dudi, alleging that he was aware of the case but had done nothing about it. She also demanded the reconstitution of the Kharge committee, saying that five of the six members were Pune-based, where Ajit Pawar is the guardian minister.
“I want the committee to be reconstituted with a retired judge, a retired DGP, and a retired or serving revenue department expert,’’ she said.
Dudi said, “I was the one who ordered an investigation and got the tehsildar suspended.’’
Damania told the media, “There were attempts to forcibly take over the Mundhwa land on June 16. I told the committee about this and provided police station diary records as proof.”
She added, “I asked the committee why Parth Pawar was not named in the FIR. Sheetal Tejwani (who had power of attorney on behalf of the Gaikwad family) was to sell the land and the buyer was a company called Amadea Enterprises LLP. The FIR must be registered against Amadea LLP. Hence it is not correct to register an FIR only against Digvijay Patil, the other partner in Amedea.”
She claimed she had furnished legal provisions, which state that if an LLP company engages in fraud, all the partners must face unlimited liability. It was on these grounds that Parth Pawar must be named in the FIR, she alleged.
Damania also said the central government had instructed the collector Jitendra Dudi on June 16 to intervene in the alleged attempt to take over the Mundhwa land. Instead, he called for a report from the sub-divisional officer on June 24, and he, in turn, asked the tehsildar on July 14 to provide a report.
“The collector should have called the SDO, tehsildar or inspector general of stamps as it required urgent intervention. The collector sat on the matter when he is supposed to be the custodian of government land. I alleged that the collector failed to act due to political pressure, she said.
NCP spokesperson Anand Paranjpe said, “The chief minister has formed this committee under ACS Kharge. They have to submit a report within 30 days. It is Damania’s habit to level wild allegations. She can provide documents to the committee but she cannot demand call data records and cell phone locations of Parth Pawar.’’
Social activist Anjali Damania testified before a state committee investigating a fraudulent land deal involving Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Damania submitted evidence asserting the land was not owned by the Gaikwad family and called for the suspension of Pune collector Jitendra Dudi for inaction. She criticized the committee's composition, demanding a reconstitution with independent experts.