Mumbai, Sep 29 (TOI): Pune developer Avinash Bhosale on Wednesday served a Rs 100 crore defamation notice on AAP leader Preeti Menon and Pune-based Rajesh Bajaj for making false, frivolous and baseless allegations against him over a land transaction in Pune. Bhosale told TOI he was initiating civil and criminal proceedings against them.

Menon and Bajaj had urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to revoke the order by then revenue minister, Eknath Khadse, in favour ABIL, a firm controlled by Bhosale, as it was bad in law and had resulted in a loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the state exchequer.
An ABIL spokesperson said the allegations were made without adequate home work, on the basis of false information and for cheap publicity as Bhosale is a developer. "The cost of the plot is Rs 11 crore and ABIL paid a stamp duty of Rs 57.55 lakh. There is no substance in the allegation that the state exchequer has suffered a loss of Rs 1,000 crore. Our deal was transparent and all documents are available for inspection,'' he said.

On the row over transfer of lease of a cooperative housing society, he said the Pune additional collector had passed an order that the sub-divisional officer should check if there was violation of lease conditions and accordingly submit a report to the state government. ABIL had approached the additional divisional commissioner (Pune), who set aside the July 7, 2015 order and sent back the file to the additional collector to check if ABIL is liable to pay unearned income on the transaction.
ABIL said Bhosale never approached Khadse for a judicial review; in fact Sunil Patil had filed an appeal before him on the row over the land. "Khadse passed an order on the basis of documents and evidence before him, as Bhosale was not a party, so there was no question of granting him a favour,'' he said.