– Pande upset over lack of action in three year
Nagpur :- State Information Commissioner (SIC), Nagpur bench, Rahul Pande has directed the chief secretary of Maharashtra to probe two long pending complaints against former Nagpur municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. Pande in its order has expressed anguish that no action has been taken by the police and top government officers on these complaints since the last three years. East Nagpur MLA Krishna Khopade had filed a petition in the Commission seeking information regarding the complaints as the same had not been provided by police. Mundhe is currently serving as the secretary of Marathi Language Department.
In June 2020, the then mayor Sandip Joshi and ruling party leader Sandip Jadhav had lodged a complaint against Mundhe, then the chief executive officer of Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL), and two others claiming that they had illegally sanctioned Rs 20 crore to contractors, at Sadar police station. The police then sent a letter in a sealed envelope to the chairperson of NSSCDCL, for further action. However, neither the then chairperson Pravin Pardesi nor his successor Dr Sanjay Mukherjee took any action.
SIC Pande has therefore directed the chief secretary to personally look into the complaint. If the complaint is found true, he should ask the police to register an offense, else he should clear Mundhe’s name.
In June 2020, a woman employee of Nagpur Smart City lodged a complaint of sexual harassment against Mundhe. The police in this case also sought guidance from the chairperson of Smart City. However, no action has been taken on the police letter since the last three years.
Pande stated in the order that it was appalling that this was happening despite strict guidelines of Supreme Court (SC) regarding sexual harassment complaints. He has directed the chief secretary to personally find out why successive chairpersons of Smart City had not taken any action in three years and direct the police to register an offense if he found the woman’s complaint to be prima facie true.
