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Tukaram Mundhe says 'public service is never about an individual' as he responds to Harsh Goenka's praise
Harsh Goenka called Tukaram Mundhe the “hero of the evening” after meeting him at an event.
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IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe responded to praise from RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka after the industrialist highlighted Mundhe's work against unsafe kitchens and food adulteration. While Goenka questioned why so few civil servants operate with the same conviction, Mundhe stated that public service is not about individuals.
Responding to a tweet about the two meeting at an event, Goenka tweeted, “I met Tukaram Mundhe for the first time, and he was undoubtedly the hero of the evening. Everyone wanted to meet him. Why? Because he is doing what citizens expect from their civil servants. Taking on food adulteration, unsafe kitchens and powerful establishments.”
The industrialist then questioned, “It is remarkable that an officer simply doing his job with honesty and conviction becomes a people’s hero. But how badly does this reflect on the larger civil services, where such examples are so few?”
What did the IAS officer say?
Mundhe responded, “Public service is never about an individual. It is about a collective commitment to serve citizens with integrity, courage and conviction.”
Pointing to the wider civil service, Mundhe stated, “There are countless civil servants across the country who are doing exemplary work, perhaps even better than I am, but whose efforts rarely receive the recognition they deserve.”
Emphasising that administrative success depends on structural collaboration, he added, “I am only a small part of a much larger team working towards this shared purpose. Whatever we achieve is always a collective effort.”
Concluding his response, the IAS officer stressed the baseline standard expected of public administration, “The trust and expectations of citizens are our greatest responsibility. An honest, accountable and citizen-centric public service should never be an exception. It must be the norm.”
Also Read: Senior bureaucrats urge Maharashtra FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe to ‘tread cautiously’
IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe gained widespread national attention following his aggressive statewide crackdowns as Commissioner of the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Mundhe’s recent surge in fame stems from high-profile enforcement drives against food adulteration, unhygienic commercial kitchens, reselling of expired products, and non-compliant quick-commerce dark stores.
