On June 26th, Friday morning, inspectors of the Maharashtra FDA (Food and Drug Administration) carried out a surprise raid at major food outlets across the state, awakening serious food concerns within the population.
The raid was conducted under the immediate order of the Maharashtra FDA commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe, under the campaign ‘Safe Food, Safe Drug, Safe Maharashtra’. The motive of this surprise raid commenced with the seizure of multiple illegal food carriages/distributors, spanning from May 1st to June 2nd.
These seizures accounted for the capture of various unaltered daily products such as milk products, edible oil, jaggery, tea powder, and life-altering chemicals such as mango ripening agent, and banned items like ‘gutkha ’ and tobacco. The seizure accounted for almost 11.93 crore rupees and was sent for immediate laboratory analysis, with almost 19 recipients being arrested on the spot for the crime.
In the following days spanning from June 26th to July 3rd, the raid was extended to major hotels and restaurants situated in various parts of the state, including Pune and Mumbai. Around 70 inspected food outlets, six were closed down with immediate effect, license terminated for their unhygienic working conditions, the use of expired food, and the presence of insects in the kitchen. Establishments such as ‘Flint & Waarsa at Nariman Point’, ‘M.K. Bakery’ in Borivali, ‘Hotel Shree Krishna’ in Bhandup, and ‘Hotel Gopal Krishna’ in Santacruz were the culprits.
Tukaram Mundhe’s food and safety campaign was alluded to as one of the most powerful and aggressive food raids conducted across the state in years. The IAS officer’s method of dealing with the matter with sharp wit and uncompromising standards was appreciated by netizens across the state and country.
However, with the immediate suspension of these establishments came the unexpected removal of Tukaram Mundhe from the Guardian Secretary post. This silent removal, although seemingly harmless and administrative, probably harbours a secret motive.
The Guardian Secretary is a crucial position held by a senior bureaucratic officer, who is entrusted with the effective implementation of government policies at grassroots levels. They are mostly appointed in states like Maharashtra and Assam, and work closely with the state government departments.
Tukaram Mundhe, apart from being the FDA commissioner of Maharashtra, also held this primary position as the Guardian Secretary, which was unfortunately stripped away following his recent raid. This motion has put forth the question regarding whether the removal was implemented to silently attend to the needs of the wealthy.
Tukaram Mundhe is a respected IAS officer who hails from the district of Beed, Maharashtra. He has been titled as ‘people's commissioner’ and ‘youth icon’ for his brutal honesty and ‘people first approach’. Mundhe’s transfer to Maharashtra had been his 25th, in the 21 years of his career, which itself testifies to the strong work commitment he holds.
During an interview with NDTV, Thakur replied courageously, claiming that the nonchalant attitude of carelessness won’t be tolerated when it comes to the safety of the citizens. Thus, it is not a puzzle to decode that the presence of such an iron man in a corrupted system will eventually drain under the pressure of an honest bureaucrat, subsequently pulling down the position of major government personnel.
Tukaram stands as one example. Similar patterns of such ensconce has and can be traced with multiple upright bureaucrats, such as Ashok Khemka, a retired IAS officer, who has been ‘rewarded’ with over 50 transfers in his career for his honest work. The continuity of this cheap trick exposes the fallacy of government administrations that blindly favour loopholes rather than the welfare of its citizens.
The silent removal of the inspector without major headlines is yet another piece of evidence of how big sharks yield greater authority over educated government officers and how the ascertainment of such officers tends to keep the government on its toes. The raid, despite being an eye-opener for the natives of the state, has also unfortunately become yet another example of systematic maladministration. The raid came to a closure with major cautions and policies being strengthened in securing food safety across the state of Maharashtra.
References: