Ajit Pawar refutes ex-Pune top cop’s charge, says he had no role in Yerawada land deal

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar denies pressuring former Pune police commissioner Meeran Borvankar to approve the transfer of police land to the highest bidder in 2008. Pawar claims the decision was made by a committee appointed by the then home minister R.R. Patil.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday dismissed former Pune police commissioner Meeran Borvankar’s allegation that he, as the guardian minister of Pune district, had in 2008 pressured her to grant her approval to hand over a piece of police land near Yerawada central jail to the highest bidder.

Pune, Sep 10 (ANI): Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar holds a roadshow, in Pune on Sunday. (ANI Photo) (ANI)

In fact, the decision to develop the three acres under a public-private-partnership model was taken by a committee appointed by the then home minister R R Patil, Pawar said at a press conference and added that he was ready to face any inquiry in this regard. Patil was with the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government.

Pawar found himself in a controversy after Borvankar, a former IPS officer, made this claim in her book ‘Madam Commissioner’ and repeated it at a press conference in Delhi on Monday.

On Tuesday, Pawar said that he had no role in the matter. “As guardian minister, officials told me that even after the approval by the home department to develop the land in return for residential police quarters and a new Yerawada police station the project was pending for implementation due to the non-transfer of the land. I was also told by officials that Borvankar’s predecessor Satyapal Singh had given his approval to the project. So, I called Borvankar, who was the city police commissioner, to ask why the land had not been transferred. After she told me about her reservations about the project, I did not pursue the matter with her,” Pawar said.

He also refuted the claim by Borvankar that because of her the project did not take off. “The deal was cancelled after the developer selected for the project was probed by central investigating agencies.”

At the press conference, Pawar also read out the purported order issued by the home department. “In February 2008, home minister Patil appointed a committee, which had the Pune city police commissioner as one of the members, to study the feasibility of the project. The committee submitted its report in August 2008 and based on it, the home minister gave his green signal to the project. Later, Jayant Patil, who was home minister for a short tenure, also responded in its favour. However, when the project did not move ahead, officials brought this to my notice as guardian minister.”

Leader of opposition in the assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, on Tuesday wrote a letter to chief minister Eknath Shinde and demanded a probe into Borvankar’s allegation. “This is a serious allegation. So, the state government should order an inquiry into the matter,” the letter said.