3 weeks ago
Canteen Raids, Razed Dawood Palace: Officers Who Took On Power
In the Indian state of Maharashtra, a government officer named Tukaram Mundhe checks whether restaurants and other food shops are clean and safe.
Since becoming food safety commissioner, he has taken away the licences of many famous restaurants, ice cream parlours and dairies.
Even government-run canteens were not spared, including the one at the High Court.
When judges criticised him for going beyond his powers, his team inspected the High Court's own canteen the very next day.
Mundhe is known for being blunt and never making exceptions, so he has been moved to more than 25 different jobs in 20 years.
The story also tells us about Govind Ragho Khairnar, a 1990s officer nicknamed Mumbai's 'Bulldozer Man'.
He used bulldozers to knock down fancy illegal buildings owned by the underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim, including a glass palace with a swimming pool and Italian marble floors.
Khairnar's campaign against corruption is believed to have helped a new government win the 1995 elections.
He was later suspended, but kept holding rallies to speak out against corruption.
Tukaram Mundhe, Maharashtra's FDA Commissioner, has cancelled the licences of numerous restaurants, ice cream parlours and dairies across the state, sparing no one from five-star hotels to government-run canteens.
A day after the Bombay High Court criticised Mundhe for allegedly going beyond his powers, his team inspected the High Court's own canteen.
Mundhe, a blunt officer known for rarely making exceptions, has been transferred more than 25 times over his twenty-year career.
The article draws comparisons to Govind Ragho Khairnar, Mumbai's 'Bulldozer Man', who demolished illegal buildings linked to underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim, including the glass palace 'Mehjabeen' on Pakmodia Street.
Khairnar's allegations against then Chief Minister Sharad Pawar are considered to have contributed to the Congress party's defeat in the 1995 Maharashtra assembly elections, which brought the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance to power.
- Who
- Tukaram Mundhe, a 2005-batch IAS officer and Maharashtra's FDA Commissioner, and Govind Ragho Khairnar, former Deputy Commissioner of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, along with figures such as Dawood Ibrahim and Sharad Pawar.
- What
- Mundhe's ongoing crackdown on food businesses over hygiene breaches, and a profile of Khairnar's 1990s demolitions of illegal properties linked to the underworld and those in power.
- Where
- Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai, including the Bombay High Court, Pakmodia Street, Zaveri Bazaar and Mohammed Ali Road.
- When
- Mundhe has headed the FDA for three months; Khairnar's demolitions took place in the 1990s after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts and before the 1995 Maharashtra assembly elections.
- Why
- To enforce hygiene standards and protect public health, and to act against illegal constructions linked to the underworld; Khairnar's campaign also sought to expose alleged ties between politicians and Dawood Ibrahim.
Supporters of the officers
Critics and those in power
Mundhe's FDA enforcement
Supporters of the officers
Cancelling the licences of hotels, restaurants and dairies enforces hygiene standards and protects public health, with no one spared, from five-star hotels to government canteens.
Critics and those in power
The Bombay High Court criticised Mundhe for allegedly going beyond his powers while acting against a hotel, and his team's inspection of the court canteen the next day was seen as a retaliatory move.
Khairnar's demolitions
Supporters of the officers
Demolishing illegal constructions linked to Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon took on the underworld and those in power, earning Khairnar the nickname 'Bulldozer Man'.
Critics and those in power
Khairnar was accused of targeting the neighbourhoods of one particular community, and a Quran falling to the ground during a demolition triggered controversy; politicians of the ruling party opposed his actions.
Allegations against Sharad Pawar
Supporters of the officers
Khairnar claimed to have truckloads of evidence linking Chief Minister Sharad Pawar to Dawood Ibrahim, and his campaign contributed to the Congress party's defeat in the 1995 elections.
Critics and those in power
Khairnar never produced the evidence publicly, and he was suspended over charges of indiscipline and misconduct towards senior officials.
Key facts
- FDA Commissioner
- Tukaram Mundhe, 2005-batch IAS officer (Maharashtra cadre)
- Tenure in role
- Three months
- Transfers
- More than 25 in a 20-year career
- High Court response
- Mundhe's team inspected the Bombay High Court canteen a day after the court criticised him
- Khairnar's nickname
- Mumbai's 'Bulldozer Man'
- Key demolition
- 'Mehjabeen' glass palace on Pakmodia Street, built by Dawood Ibrahim in his wife's name
- Khairnar's career start
- Joined Maharashtra government as a clerk in 1964
- 1995 election result
- Shiv Sena-BJP alliance came to power; Manohar Joshi became Chief Minister
Sources
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