Maharashtra FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe reacts to corruption allegations, says 'action needs evidence'

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe while reacting to Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Rauts allegations said that action requires evidenceMundhe was answering reporters questions during a press conference held in Mumbai on September 29The FDA chief said that any specific information or lead against an FDA officer would be acted upon but that action cannot be initiated solely on the basis of a public statement or an allegationEarlier this week Sanjay Raut in a threepage letter to Mundhe had alleged that some FDA officials were misusing enforcement action against food businesses to demand moneyRaut further alleged that the officials from the FDA were threatening hotels restaurants and quickcommerce businesses with licence suspension and subsequently demanding money for restorationResponding to the allegations Mundhe said that if there was any basic lead indicating the involvement of an FDA officer in corruption he would personally take cognisance of itMundhe assures 100 per cent transparency in FDArsquos functioningldquoIf anybody can give me any basic lead on any FDA officer being involved in any kind of corruption I will personally take cognisance of the situationrdquo Mundhe said while answering a question asked by a midday reporterMundhe said that Rautrsquos statement by itself did not automatically establish that the FDA had become a hub for extortionStressing that there is 100 per cent transparency in the FDAs crackdown across the state Mundhe further added ldquoAnyone with specific information about the ongoing alleged corruption activities within Maharashtra could submit it directly to me or approach the AntiCorruption Bureau ACBrdquoHe also stressed that merely acting on the basis of a public allegation would not be justified without supporting evidenceldquoJust taking any action on the basis of somebodys public statement cannot be justified A chargesheet needs facts testimonials and statements As of today I have not received any single of theserdquo Mundhe saidFDA acting on social media complaintsDuring the press conference MidDay asked the FDA chief about whether the FDA takes cognisance of the social media posts and commentsTo which Mundhe said the FDA does not have a fullfledged team that tracks complaints and posts of food safety regulation violations reported through social medialdquoWe dont have any fullfledged team to track allegations on social media but we do take cognisance of whatever comes to our noticerdquo he saidVerifying facts over a social media post can be a challenge MundheHe further stated ldquoVerifying the fact of the matter over a social media post is very difficult therefore we majorly act on complaints filed on the FDArsquos complaint portalrdquoldquoAlthough what comes to our notice through social media we definitely check on it and take the required action if the officials find it factually correctrdquoMundhe cited the FDArsquos recent action against a luxury hotel in Mumbai after a social media user posted about allegedly finding a live cockroach on a dinner tableldquoThe department took cognisance of the complaint and initiated action against the establishment when it came to our noticerdquo the FDA chief addedThe commissioner said the department would continue to act on credible information that comes to its notice