Mundhe removed from Navi Mumbai civic chief post

Giving in to pressure, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis decided to remove Tukaram Mundhe, from the post of Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner on Friday. He was appointed to the post in April 2016. Ramaswamy N, Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamp, Pune will replace him.

Mundhe was transferred less than a year after being appointed to the post. He has not been assigned a new post yet.

The chief minister was under tremendous pressure, from ally Shiv Sena as well, to remove Mundhe, sources said. A no-confidence motion was also passed by NMMC corporators against Mundhe as they alleged that he disrespected elected representatives and acted arbitrarily.

It was expected that Mundhe would be in the position for the next few months at least after Fadnavis had overturned a no-confidence motion passed by the corporators’ body against him in November last year by using special powers under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act. The CM had said Mundhe was an efficient officer and Navi Mumbai needed him.

Sources said Mundhe’s transfer was one of the main demands made by Sena ministers when they led a delegation to the chief minister few days ago.

According to transfer rules, an official has to complete three years on a post. Mundhe’s work in the corporation, especially regarding illegal construction and corruption in the civic body, won him praise and support from Navi Mumbai residents.

Residents and activists have firmly stood by him while alleging that politicians are pursuing their vested interests. They circulated ‘Support Mundhe’ messages, which are going viral on social media.

Mundhe, an IAS officer of the 2005 batch, had been similarly ganged up against during stints in Nagpur and Solapur.

Apart from Mundhe, two more officers have been transferred. Suhas Diwase, director of disaster management cell of the revenue department, has been posted as collector of Bhandara district.

He will replace Abhijeet Chaudhary, who has been appointed as municipal commissioner of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation.

Mukesh Khulkar, principal secretary, general administration department, said, “The transfer orders are being issued.”