Union minister Nitin Gadkari complains to PMO against senior Maharashtra bureaucrat

MUMBAI: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has complained to the PMO seeking action against a senior bureaucrat in Maharashtra for " ïllegally taking over" the special purpose vehicle implementing the Smart City project in Nagpur.
Gadkari on Sunday wrote identical letters to the Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, urging action against Nagpur Municipal Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.

In his letters, the union minister claimed that Tukaram Mundhe ‘illegally and unconstitutionally" took over as the CEO of the Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited ( NSSCDCL) -- jointly owned by the Nagpur civic body and the state government -- which is implementing the Smart City project in Nagpur.

Gadkari, who is member of parliament from Nagpur, argued that Mundhe could not become the CEO of the body without the approval of the board of directors of the NSSCDCL

He claimed that Mundhe, after he became the CEO, reversed several decisions "taken unanimously by the Board of Directors such as cancellation of approved tenders, termination of contractual employees during Covid 19 situation, and misappropriation of funds of the company by introducing his signature in the current account maintained with the Bank of Maharashtra".

Gadkari pointed out that the mayor of Nagpur, who is one of the nominee directors, had filed a criminal complaint against Mundhe.

ET tried to get in touch with Mundhe regarding these allegations, but there was no response from him.

Gadkari's letters sought ""strict and necessary action" against Mundhe in order to stop him from "jeopardizing the Central government funded/granted Nagpur smart city project".

Mundhe is known in the state as a no-nonsense bureaucrat with a clean track record, who has been transferred more than a dozen times in his 15 year old career. The transfers were a result of his frequent run=ins with elected representatives at his place of posting.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had, within two months of coming to power, appointed Mundhe as the Nagpur Municipal Commssioner, a move widely seen as the Sena going out of its way to rile the BJP. Gadkari’s letter showed the flashpoint did not take too long in coming.