Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut wrote to Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on Monday, alleging that FDA officials have been engaging in extortion and threatening hotels and quick‑commerce firms with licence suspensions. Raut claims that the agency’s crackdown has turned its Bandra and Thane headquarters into hubs where officials bypass mandatory legal notices to extract large sums from frightened business operators.
In the letter, Raut cited complaints from operators in Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Wardha and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, who reported that they were forced to pay “closing notices” to avoid licence suspension. He said that designated officers, assistant commissioners and food safety officers openly threatened establishments, demanding payment to restore licences. A pair of officers in Thane reportedly collected ₹17–18 lakh from a quick‑commerce company to lift a suspended licence, while a hotel’s licence was suspended over a social media post about a rat, even though officials allegedly found no rodent during inspection.
Raut argues that most raids are initiated through customer complaints without independent verification of their authenticity. He noted that before Mundhe’s appointment the typical closing‑notice fee was ₹10,000–12,000, but it has risen to ₹75,000–92,000 under the current administration.
The MLA demanded that Mundhe launch an independent inquiry into the “closing notice rate cards” across Bandra, Thane and other divisions, and into cases involving licence restoration. He also called for disciplinary action against officials who bypass the legally prescribed notice‑hearing‑suspension procedure and for the FDA to publish the reasons, dates and summaries of all licence suspensions and reinstatements.
Raut warned that without tighter control over its officers, the FDA’s claimed reforms remain incomplete, describing the officers’ conduct as “outright looting” that cannot be ignored.
