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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

FDA braces for Tukaram Mundhe’s strong dose

Mumbai: An unyielding and upright IAS officer Tukaram Haribhau Mundhe was awarded with his 25th transfer order in 21 years’ service – as the new Commissioner of Food & Drug Administration. The latest shunting comes barely a couple of months after his last assignment, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, which was stayed before he could take charge. Mundhe, 50, holds the current ‘national record’ for being an IAS officer who has suffered maximum transfers;...

FDA braces for Tukaram Mundhe’s strong dose

Mumbai: An unyielding and upright IAS officer Tukaram Haribhau Mundhe was awarded with his 25th transfer order in 21 years’ service – as the new Commissioner of Food & Drug Administration. The latest shunting comes barely a couple of months after his last assignment, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, which was stayed before he could take charge. Mundhe, 50, holds the current ‘national record’ for being an IAS officer who has suffered maximum transfers; prior to him were two retired Haryana IAS officers holding a similar honour. In an era when public confidence in institutions is wavering, examples of uncompromising and righteous officers like Mundhe shine bright and endear themselves to the masses. Humble Family Born into a humble farmer family of Beed, Mundhe’s childhood was bereft of luxuries and had to struggle even for bare necessities for which he disciplined himself, toiled and never faltered – strong qualities that help him stand ramrod straight even today. A bright kid, Mundhe helped his parents in the scorching fields during the day and spent hours at night poring over books under the dim light of kerosene lamps, completed his schooling with distinction, plus earned his graduate and post-graduate degrees from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. With a burning desire to work for the welfare of the masses and society in general, Mundhe appeared for the UPSC exams and finally cleared his IAS in 2005 to enter public service. As he plunged himself headlong to wield the power of his position for public benefit, he quickly became a villain in the eyes of many vested elements, including politicians of different hues. No-nonsense Boss Mundhe proved to be an inflexible no-nonsense boss, abhorred indiscipline, a stickler for rules, curbed malpractices, public-centric result-oriented – making him the darling of the masses and in constant media glare. From his early years, he paid the price for his integrity, nature and working style. As per regulations, officers at certain levels are expected to serve for minimum three years in any post, but the much-feared Mundhe worked for barely a month in some of his postings, and hardly a few where he served for a year or more. Over the years, the people who watched Mundhe and the antics of his opponents, saluted him with many labels – ‘Singham’, ‘Youth Icon’, ‘Fearless Officer’, ‘Peoples Hero’, etc. Till May 26, in his 21-year long career, Mundhe has 25 transfer orders under his belt, ostensibly for refusing to bend rules or bending before the powers-that-be, irrespective of any political group or party in power. What most would consider a punishment transfer, Mundhe grabbed it headlong, not only challenging the system but infusing fresh challenges in the assignment, converting it into a ‘hot seat’, setting new standards which the next incumbent was forced to follow or fall out. For instance, after his appointment as Solapur Collector (November 2014), Mundhe cracked the whip on illegal mining operations and became a serious target of the powerful sand mafia there, but he was undeterred. In his 8-month long but eventful tenure as Nagpur Municipal Commissioner, Mundhe launched a transparency drive, overturned entrenched administrative practices that had evaded scrutiny, dared to question unsanctioned expenditures from the civic body’s coffers and many came under the radar. However, he was shunted to Mumbai in a fresh assignment before there were casualties. Lasting Impact Probably, the most striking aspect of Mundhe’s bureaucratic journey is that in every posting, he managed to leave a lasting impact and set new benchmarks. As in Solapur, he contributed to making at least 7 municipal bodies defecation-free in a tenure of barely 18 months (Nov. 2014-May 2016). A retired civil servant described Mundhe as “a champion of citizen-centric governance, ensured that the administration connected to the last man, treated his work not with authority but as a responsibility and worked not merely efficiently but empathy for the masses – who adored him”. Shattering traditions even at home In April 2026, while on election duty in West Bengal, Tukaram Mundhe learnt that his mother Asarabai breathed her last at 90 in Pune. He rushed back for the last rites held in his native village, Tadsona in Beed district. Breaking conventions, Mundhe and his brother skipped all the traditional rituals, and instead of immersing her residue in a holy river, they planted a Banyan sapling on her ashes as a dual tribute to her and the environment.

‘Anatomy’ of Landfill- Open Dumping Ground

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Landfill

In my article last week, I had written about the basic composition of garbage that piles up on a dumping ground in hundreds and thousands of tons. If it was only plastic waste, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only the waste papers, cardboards and tetra packs, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only clothing or textile material, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only the electrical and electronic waste, there wouldn’t be much problem. If, it was only the kitchen waste, there wouldn’t be much problem.


So the problem, not just one..but many problems leading to NIMBY mentality of the people is because of such deadly mixture of the waste materials that get accumulated on a dumping ground. There are multiple reasons for people protesting and refusing to have a dumping ground in the vicinity of their residences. While having an open dumping ground is financially and technically much more advantageous for the urban local bodies, it is extremely hazardous for the environment and poses threat to health as well.


Let’s see now how it is advantageous to the urban local bodies to have open dumping ground. First, there is no need to ‘prepare’ the site for accommodating the waste material. It gets dumped as it is brought by those trucks or compacters to the site. Secondly, there is no need to have a system for ‘compaction’ of the waste. In fact, compaction is essential process to minimize the volume of waste such that more waste can be accommodated in relatively smaller space. But it requires additional machinery and, of course, additional costs. Next there is no provision for management of the ‘leachate’. Oh! Come on. What is this stuff? Hold on very easy to understand.


As the waste on such open dumping ground is heterogenous, many entities in this huge pile or heap react with each other and in the process, generate a deadly, hazardous toxic liquid, ‘LEACHATE’.


Being liquidish, leachate slowly runs down and accumulates at the bottom of the garbage pile, and further sips or percolates down in the soil. This results in severe loss of soil biodiversity. Extremely useful organisms like soil bacteria, earthworms and many other cannot tolerate the toxicants present in this leachate. This ultimately results in contamination and degradation of the soil.


Many good quality, fertile soils have been severely degraded because of this. Such soil is practically ‘dead’ and is rendered useless for the growth of any vegetation whatsoever. Ok. Soil is lost. What next? Well, when it rains, this leachate further flows down below the soil and eventually enters the underground aquifers thereby polluting the groundwater which is such a precious natural resource on which we, the humans are dependent. Understood? Furthermore, such chemical reactions also generate toxic and foul smelling gases which spread easily through the air adding to the air pollution. More about this in the next article.


(The author is an environment specialist. Views personal.)

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