Commissioner was blamed for his autocratic behaviour, humiliation he meted out to the Mayor

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday suspended the no confidence motion passed against Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, but decided to give a hearing to the corporators’ grievances before taking the final decision. Now, Mr. Mundhe can continue working as the Commissioner.

Two weeks ago, the corporators — barring those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — had passed the resolution against Mr. Mundhe. Mayor Sudhakar Sonawane had even threatened to not allow the Commissioner to enter the municipal building. The corporators had blamed Mr. Mundhe for his autocratic behaviour and the humiliation he meted out to the Mayor and the corporators.

The corporators had even met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and sought his intervention. Mr. Thackeray had said that it was ‘people’s demand’ to sack Mr. Mundhe.

However, in an interview to The Hindu , Mr. Fadnavis had said that he won’t take action against a government officer for taking action against illegalities and corruption, indicating that he stands behind Mr. Mundhe. Mr. Fadanavis had also said: “It is not fair to target one officer doing his duty honestly and exposing irregularities to prevent wrongdoings. If there are communication issues with an official, then he can be made aware of it in a different manner.” The State enjoys power under (Section 45)1 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act to suspend the execution of a resolution if it believes it could lead to a law and order situation, or is against the larger public interest, or could hurt the financial interest of the municipality.