Pune land deal: Mahar Vatandars demand FIR against Parth Pawar, CBI investigation and their land back

Speaking to The Indian Express, Gaikwad said Parth Pawar had blatantly and brazenly snatched land which was ‘theirs for centuries’. ”The land belongs to us and not to Parth Pawar or his father. The way Parth Pawar has tried to take over the land is shameful. He has used the offices of his father to strike the deal. He should have thought a thousand times before entering into such a deal. We demand that an FIR against Parth should be filed for grabbing our land. At the same, an FIR under the Atrocity Act should be filed,” Gaikwad said.

The Parishad said it is impossible to believe that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was not aware of the deal. ”Actually, Ajit Pawar while speaking to reporters himself confessed that he knew about such a thing happening three-four months back. So why did he keep quiet? It is obvious that he allowed the deal to take place using his powers as the Deputy Chief Minister. Therefore, we demand the resignation of Ajit Pawar,” he said, adding that a CBI probe should be launched in this matter.

Chandrashekhar Jawle, secretary of the Parishad, said,”The land was taken over by the government for setting up of the Botanical Garden in 1955 on a 50 year lease. The government while doing so did not take Vatandars approval. The Vatandars demanded a probe into this take over, but nothing happened. The lease ended in 2005. At that time, despite our repeated pleas, the government refused to return the land to us. The lease of the Botanical Garden was extended. In 2006, Sheetal Tejwani and another agent from Pune city tried to convince the Mahar Vatandars that they would get the land freed from the government. They got the power of attorney and paid Rs 5000 each to 20 Mahar Vatandars. Cheques of 10 of the Mahar Vatandars have bounced in 2006 itself. The Mahar Vatandars had filed a police complaint in this matter but nothing happened. We want these two people who took us for a ride should be arrested.”

Jawle said in 2005, there were 280 Mahar Vatandars. ”Now the figure of these Mahar Vatandars and claimant to the land stands at 500.”

Jawle said from 2005 to 2025, the government did nothing despite repeated demands to return the land ”The Mahar Vatandars again approached the district collector demanding return of the 43 acre land. We met District Collector Prabhakar Deshmukh but he ruled against the Mahar Vatandars. We demand that a probe should be launched against Prabhakar Deshmukh. He is responsible for snatching away the government land.”Jawle said in 1955, the land in question was a fallow land. ”In 1955, they gave land on lease. The government was supposed to return the land in 2005, but refused to. And now in this case, the permission of the Mahar Vatandar is mandatory but it was not taken.”

Paresh Gaikwad, a Mahar Vatandar said,”Of the 43 acre Mundhwa land, my land is around nine acres. In 2006, Sheetal Tejwani said she would get my land freed from the government. She took our signature on a piece of paper and gave a cheque of Rs 5000. The cheque however bounced. I was cheated…”