Online petitions have been floated, with residents coming out in droves to oppose attempts by politicians to oust Tukaram Mundhe
A huge face-off is playing out in Navi Mumbai between residents and politicians over Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. Ever since he took over as the civic chief on May 2 this year, Mundhe has been giving politicians and businessmen in the satellite city a hard time.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe
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He has gone after illegal encroachments and has cracked down on other illegal activities, making him hugely unpopular with politicians. At the monsoon assembly session Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Manda Mhatre raised the issue of the recent demolition of illegal constructions and demanded that Mundhe be transferred from Navi Mumbai.
This triggered an avalanche of support from citizens who have started an online petition against the demand for his ouster. The posts online call Mundhe, among other things, “honest and dedicated” and have even thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for posting him in Navi Mumbai.
Aniket Naik (29), a resident of Vashi and a filmmaker, said, “Support for Mundhe started when politicians along with locals called for a bandh on July 18 to protest against his demolition of illegal constructions. I have lived in Navi Mumbai all my life and have never seen a civic chief who is so quick with decision-making. Sector 9 in Vashi was a mess. Hawkers had encroached on all roads. But, Mundhe took action and the place is all cleaned up now.”
Naik said Mundhe also took down all illegal structures built by shop owners on footpaths. He said even though action used to be taken earlier, hawkers were back the very next day, but not this time.
Residents said Mundhe has also been going after the builder lobby. “In Juigaon in Vashi, numerous buildings have come up in the past few years. Whether they are legal or illegal no one knows. Mundhe has been getting all this demolished,” he said, likening the civic chief to Anil Kapoor’s character in the film Nayak.
Avinash Waghmare, a resident of Sanpada and a sales executive, said he was frustrated with the regular bandhs called by political parties. “Is the bandh to support the people or harass them? Our support is completely with the commissioner as he is working on taking the city forward by clearing it of illegal hawkers and constructions. We want him here for his entire tenure.”
Sandeep Lahoria, a Navi Mumbai developer, is also backing Mundhe. “The illegalities in Navi Mumbai have almost come to a full stop. People are now thinking twice before considering building illegal structures. My father Sunil Lahoria, who was killed, had exposed an FSI scam. If Mundhe had been there at the time, maybe the situation would have been different,” Lahoria said.
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