Dharankar wasn’t under any stress, says NMC civic chief

Yet another controversy surrounds IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, who was shunted out of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and has been heading the Nashik Municipal Corporation since February.

Giving some clarification on the suicide of Additional Municipal Commissioner (AMC) Sanjay Dharankar, Mundhe said that there was no work-related stress on Dharankar. Dharankar committed suicide on August 2 and in his suicide note cited work pressure for taking the extreme step.

Interestingly, Dharankar had resumed duty last week, after long leave. In his absence, another officer had taken charge of his work, which is the usual procedure. Mundhe said Dharankar had been on leave for 45 days and had not given any indication of having been under stress.

“Till date, Dharankar had not complained to the administration of work pressure or stress,” clarified Mundhe. He added, “Since March, Dharankar was on leave for 45 days. He even undertook the Amaranath yatra in that time. In his absence, his duties were entrusted to another person. It is wrong to state he was on leave for so long due to work-related stress.”

Mundhe has made it clear he has put in place certain work discipline measures. In order to improve civic officials’ efficiency, the administration has even organised many workshops. Every officer is expected to clear 14 files regularly. “However, Dharankar did not have more than 6-7 files on a daily basis. In no way could the administration be held responsible,” said Mundhe.