Sanjay Raut praises Maha FDA crackdown, but warns Mundhe of alleged extortion

• Raut has welcomed FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s action against adulterated food and unhygienic kitchens

• In a letter to Mundhe, he alleges that some FDA officers are using the threat of licence suspension to demand bribes

• He has called for an investigation, disciplinary action and public disclosure of decisions to suspend or restore licences

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has praised Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s drive against food safety violations but warned that some officers may be using the crackdown to extort businesses.

In a letter dated 27 September and posted on X on Monday, Raut commended action against adulterated food, fake dairy products and unhygienic hotel kitchens. He alleged, however, that some Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers were threatening hotels, restaurants and quick-commerce firms with licence suspension unless they paid bribes. The allegations have not been independently established.

Raut claimed that the amount allegedly sought to settle a “closing notice” had risen from Rs 10,000–Rs 12,000 to between Rs 75,000 and Rs 2 lakh following the FDA’s recent enforcement actions. He identified the department’s headquarters in Bandra and its Thane office as centres of the alleged activity, and said small business owners in Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Wardha and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had complained to him.

The letter also cited an allegation involving a quick-commerce company in Thane. Raut claimed that two Designated Officers demanded Rs 17–18 lakh to restore its suspended licence and called for a separate investigation into the case.

Raut questioned action taken on the basis of unverified social media complaints, including reports of rodents, and sought physical checks before raids triggered by customer complaints. He also alleged that small food businesses faced stringent action while large pharmaceutical companies with serious compliance issues sometimes avoided scrutiny because of political or corporate influence.

He urged Mundhe to investigate the alleged payments linked to closing notices and licence restoration, and to take disciplinary action against officers found to have bypassed the required notice, hearing and suspension process. Raut also asked the FDA to publish the dates, reasons and hearing summaries for licence suspensions and restorations so that its decisions could be scrutinised.

Raut said protecting public health should not provide cover for extortion and urged Mundhe to address the allegations within the department alongside his enforcement drive. He has forwarded a copy of the letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

With IANS inputs