"Law Above Individuals": Ramdas Athawale On Mahar Watan Land Row

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, has said the law will take its course in the Koregaon Mahar Watan land grab case that allegedly involves Parth Pawar.

Speaking to NDTV, Athawale reiterated that Mahar Watan land is protected by law and cannot be given to anyone without the rightful owner's consent and mandatory state government permission.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry into the deal. 

A 43-acre government-owned plot in Pune's Koregaon, historically categorised as Mahar Watan land, was allegedly in the process of being transferred to Amadea Developers, a company linked to Parth Pawar, for just Rs 300 crore, despite the land's market valuation reportedly exceeding Rs 1,800 crore.

While the monetary transaction ultimately did not take place, official records indicate that the groundwork for the transfer had been cleared.

Local revenue officials, including the tehsildar, had paved the way for the one-lakh-rupee-capital company to claim ownership by allowing a nominal stamp duty payment of only Rs 500, a drastic deviation from standard norms for high-value land deals.

As confirmed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the probe committee includes Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue), Pune Divisional Commissioner, District Collector, Settlement Commissioner, and Inspector General of Registration.

"Law is more important than a person. If he is wrong, action will be taken. Such transactions should not happen," Athawale said. He has cautioned against politicising the matter and added that the investigation would decide the next steps.

Asked whether provisions of the Atrocities Act may apply against Parth Pawar, Athawale said it would depend on whether a formal complaint is filed.

"For the Act to apply, those affected need to file an official complaint that they were cheated," he said.

NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar, who has been leading attacks against the government in other cases, meanwhile questioned the speed of action.

"If Parth Pawar has done something wrong, there is no question of backing him. But why is there such fast action only in this case?" he said. 

"We have exposed several other corruption cases. Why is there no inquiry into those? There is a Rs 5,000-crore CIDCO corruption case, why is no action being taken on that?"

Calling for a policy solution, Athawale said similar cases have been reported across the state and a clear decision is needed to avoid future disputes.