IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe has responded to industrialist Harsh Goenka’s praise for his work against food adulteration and unsafe kitchens, saying public service is a collective responsibility and that honesty and accountability should be the norm rather than the exception.
Industrialist Harsh Goenka praised IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe for his action against food adulteration and unsafe kitchens. In response, Mundhe said honest public service should be the norm and highlighted the contributions of countless civil servants who work without recognition.
Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, shared a post on X after meeting Mundhe for the first time. “I met Tukaram Mundhe for the first time, and he was undoubtedly the hero of the evening. Everyone wanted to meet him,” Goenka wrote. Taking on food adulteration, unsafe kitchens and powerful establishments. Goenka also asked why an officer who performed his duties with honesty and determination had become an exceptional figure in the civil services. “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?” he asked. Responding to the praise, Mundhe shifted the focus from himself to the wider civil services, saying public service is never about individual achievements. “Public service is never about an individual. It is about a collective commitment to serve citizens with integrity, courage and conviction,” he wrote. Mundhe also disagreed with the suggestion that officers committed to their duties were few in number. The IAS officer further credited his team for the work being carried out, stressing that achievements in public administration were the result of collective efforts. “I am only a small part of a much larger team working towards this shared purpose. Whatever we achieve is always a collective effort,” he added. Mundhe concluded his response with a message on the responsibility of civil servants towards citizens. “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,” he wrote. The exchange between the industrialist and the IAS officer brought attention to the expectations citizens have of public officials. the officer used the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of other civil servants who continue to work without public recognition While Goenka highlighted Mundhe’s work as an example of honest administration.
Explaining the reason behind Mundhe’s popularity, the industrialist said, “Because he is doing what citizens expect from their civil servants.
He described the bureaucrat as the “hero of the evening” and praised his efforts to take action against food adulteration, unsafe kitchens and influential establishments. He said many civil servants across the country were doing exceptional work but rarely received the attention they deserved. “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,” Mundhe said.
