Tukaram H. Mundhe is an IAS officer from Maharashtra batch 2005. He is known as one of the most honest and courageous IAS officers.
Wiki/Biography
Tukaram Mundhe was born on Tuesday, June 3, 1975 (45 years old in 2020) in Tadosona, a small village in Beed district in Maharashtra. His full name is Tukaram Haribau Mundhe and his star sign is Gemini. Tukaram’s childhood was full of hardships. Born into a farming family, Mundhe started helping his family with farm chores at the age of 8. He would work on the farm every morning, go to school, and then come back to continue working in the fields until the evening. He did everything from fencing to digging wells, from sowing seeds to selling produce at the weekly vegetable market.
Tukaram Munde’s childhood
He worked hard on farms till he completed his tenth grade. After completing his tenth grade at the local Zilla Parishad Primary School in Beed district, he left the village for further studies in Aurangabad, where his elder brother also went to school. On his elder brother’s advice, he chose science for his intermediate studies. He then graduated from Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, with a bachelor’s degree in political science, sociology and history in 1996. After graduation, he joined the National Administrative Professional Institute, Mumbai, a government-funded coaching institute, to prepare for the civil services exam. At the same time, he also joined a college in Mumbai for a postgraduate course in political science. After failing three times, Mundhe passed the MPSC exam for the fourth time in 2001 and was appointed as a Grade II officer in the Ministry of Finance. But he did not stop there. After eight years of hard work and perseverance, he passed the UPSC 2004 civil services exam in his last attempt, ranking 20th in India. Later, he was selected as an IAS officer and was posted in the Maharashtra cadre.
Tukaram Mundhe UPSC CSE 2004 Result List
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 8″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
Tukaram was born into a progressive farmer family from the Vanjari community.
Parents and siblings
His parents, Haribhau Mundhe (father) and Aasrabai Mundhe, were farmers.
Tukaram Mundhe’s mother
His elder brother Ashok Mundhe was the first civil service graduate from the village. Tukaram was inspired by his brother and decided to become an IAS officer.
Tukaram Mundhe’s brother
Relationships and Children
Tukaram is married and has two children with his wife Archana Mundhe – Agastya Mundhe (son) and Ashana Mundhe (daughter).
Tukaram Mundhe with his wife and children
Profession
On 22nd August 2005, after completing the training, Tukaram was posted as temporary Assistant Collector of Solapur. As soon as he assumed office, he was charged with eliminating illegal activities in Solapur. On his fourth day in office in Solapur, he raided and sealed a bar owned by a powerful local politician, where illegal activities were going on. Later, as part of his training, he was posted as the Chief Officer of the Barshi Block Municipality in Solapur. During his tenure, he stopped several illegal activities taking place in the area. He cleared more than 15,000 unauthorized encroachments in the area, which were blocking roads meant for public movement. Various incidents took place during his tenure. He recalls,
During the demolition of an illegal liquor store, someone threatened to set himself on fire if he continued. Mundhe knew that if he stopped, the demolition would stop too. He asked a police officer to record a video and then arrest him for threatening to commit suicide.
Tukaram Mundhe interacts with people of Solapur
After completing his training, Tukaram was posted as Assistant Collector of Nandedgarh in September 2007. After working there for about four months, he was transferred to Nagpur as the CEO of Zilla Parishad. In 2008, after being appointed as the CEO of Nagpur Zilla Parishad, he visited some government schools on the same day. He found that several teachers were absent from the schools without prior notice and all of them were suspended the next day. He also suspended the medical services of some doctors after finding irregularities in the medical services provided by the government hospitals in the area.
Although he has been fighting corruption, solving various public problems and engaging in public welfare during his tenure, transfers have become the norm in his career.
There have been several instances in his career where politicians have united against Tukaram Mundhe and demanded a transfer. However, citizens impressed with his work have often come to his rescue. A similar incident took place in June 2020 when Indian National Congress MP and Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Nana Patole demanded the transfer of Tukaram Mundhe, the municipal commissioner of Nagpur Municipal Corporation. Seeing this, the citizens of Orange City launched an online petition – the People’s Confidence Motion – to express support for the municipal commissioner. More than 5,000 people signed the petition. The petition did not work and Tukaram was transferred from Nagpur to Mumbai, his 15th transfer in his 15-year career.
Travel with a specialist
In 2016, during his tenure as the Municipal Commissioner of Navi Mumbai, the ‘Walk with the Commissioner’ initiative gained popularity. Under this initiative, Tukaram Mundhe and senior officials would interact with the public in different areas every Sunday.
The public would narrate the problems in their area, provide feedback on the work being done in their area and offer appropriate suggestions to improve the situation. He recognised the traffic congestion problem in Navi Mumbai and improved the traffic congestion in the city by developing proper parking facilities, focusing on ease of doing business and cashless schemes, working with the public on solid waste management, etc.
Tukaram, who has suspended many officials for misconduct and irregularities, has done a job on the ground that has not only delighted the citizens of Navi Mumbai but has also angered many.
dispute
IAS Tukaram Mundhe has made significant contributions to transparency and accountability in public administration. Although, there have been some controversial incidents during his career. Here are some of them:
- In October 2016, the elected representatives of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) corporators passed a no-confidence motion against Tukaram Mundhe. The corporators accused Tukaram of not respecting elected representatives. They further described Tukaram as having an authoritarian style and believing only in bureaucracy and not in democratic values, which was the reason for passing a no-confidence motion against him.
- In August 2018, the elected representatives of the BJP-led Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) passed a no-confidence motion against Tukaram Mundhe. The letter accused Tukaram of making arbitrary decisions without the trust of the elected representatives. Speaking on the issue, Tukaram Mundhe said,
I just acted according to the law. My work system does not threaten anyone but is based on priorities. Moreover, it is time-bound and therefore result-oriented. I believe that this no-confidence motion is not against me but against good governance. I have been working hard for the past six months to establish these systems. I have always worked with utmost transparency. This work is process-oriented and result-oriented. ”
- On June 8, 2020, the Ganeshpeth police station registered a case against the then mayor Tukaram Mundhe, accusing him of violating lockdown restrictions by attending an event attended by 200 people and posing a risk of spreading the coronavirus.
- On June 28, 2020, a former official of the Nagpur Smart Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) filed a police complaint against Tukaram Mundhe for humiliating and harassing her. She wrote in her complaint that Mundhe wanted her to reveal some inside information about the NSSCDCL department but she disagreed. This made Mundhe very angry and he started harassing her with derogatory remarks.
Awards and Honors
- He was awarded the ‘Best Collector’ award by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for his all-round performance in 2015-16.
- In 2016, the Chief Minister conferred the title of ‘Water Hero of India’ (Administrative Category) from IBN Lokmat.
- The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Award is an effort to recognise the best work done by DMs across the country.
Facts/Trivia
- Mundhe’s classmates considered him one of the most honest and principled officers, but he lacked a pragmatic attitude.
During our interactions with him, we always told him not to over-emphasize on certain issues. He did not follow our advice and now he is paying the price. We are in a democracy and we cannot ignore our elected representatives. Transfers are part of Indian bureaucracy but 15 transfers in 15 years seems bad.”
- Mundhe believes that there is a drive within him that drives him to be a leader. He says,
I asked myself, if I can’t do it, who can? As an IAS officer, if I can’t change the system, if I can’t give them (citizens) leadership, if I can’t give them motivation, then who can do it?”
- Mondeh believes that his professionalism is his greatest strength, while his speed is his weakness as it often embarrasses many of the people who work with him.
- Early in his career, he found himself in a dilemma many times, not knowing whether what he was doing was right or wrong. Mondhe then came up with a three-point checklist to help him overcome the dilemma. He came up with three points – his actions must be legal, must be ethical, and must be in the public interest. If his actions met any two points in the checklist, including the mandatory requirement of legality of his actions, he would go ahead with his decision.
- During his tenure as assistant collector in Deglore, Mundhe used to impose heavy fines on illegal sand miners in the area. He used to conduct random raids in mining areas. The die-hard miners became so alert that they distributed money and mobile phones to small shopkeepers outside Tukaram’s office. The shopkeepers noted down Tukaram’s whereabouts and provided the information to the miners.
- Tukaram Munde narrated his inspiring and thought-provoking journey in a July 2018 episode on YouTube channel Tedx Talks, where he told people to be the change they want to see in society.
- On August 25, 2020, Tukaram contracted COVID-19 while serving as the civil chief of Nagpur.
Dear everyone, I tested positive #Coronavirus diseaseI have no symptoms and have been self-isolating as per the protocols and guidelines. Everyone who has come in contact with me in the past 14 days is being asked to get tested. I am working from home to control #Pandemic Nagpur situation. We will win.
— Tukaram Munde (@Tukaram_IndIAS) August 25, 2020
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education