Tukaram Mundhe shifted to Mantralaya

Mumbai: Contrary to reports of him being shifted to Osmanabad, firebrand IAS officer and Nashik municipal corporation  (NMC) commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has been transferred to Mantralaya in Mumbai. Peeved with the transfer, a large number of Nashik residents protested in front of the NMC headquarters Thursday.

There were reports that Nashik-based Mr Mund-he would be transferred to head the Osmanabad municipal corporation. However, the order issued Thursday by Sitaram Kunte, principal secretary (general administration department), said that he had been appointed joint secretary (planning) at Mantralaya.

This is Mr Mundhe’s third posting in just two years. The 2005-batch IAS officer was said to have been transferred nearly a dozen times in the last 13 years. In February this year, he took charge as the Nashik civic commissioner and soon became popular among the people due to his uprightness and strict measures.

According to the locals, Mr Mundhe brought in discipline and accountability in the functioning of the civic body. He also launched a drive against encroachments in Nashik and punished erring civic employees. Along with this, he started a public contact programme, ‘Wal-k with the commissioner’, held every Saturday, where he would interact with the people and address their grievances.

Protesting his transfer, people shouted slogans against Maharashtra wa-ter resources minister Girish Mahajan and a local BJP MLA.