Maharashtra Government Appoints Tukaram Mundhe as Secretary of Panel to Reform MPSC

The Maharashtra government on Sunday announced the formation of a committee to review and reform the state’s recruitment agency, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), appointing FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe as its secretary. The move comes as job aspirants continue their protest in Pune, which has entered its tenth day.

State minister Shivendraraje Bhosale announced the decision after meeting the protesters at SM Joshi Bridge, where candidates have been demonstrating for several days, demanding changes to the MPSC recruitment process. The committee will be chaired by former judge Dilip Bhosale. Its other members include IPS officer Laxmi Gautam, former IAS officer Ganesh Patil and retired judge P. D. Naik.

During his interaction with the protesters, the minister also assured them that their other demands would be considered. These include withdrawing cases registered against certain representatives of the agitation, filling 70,000 government vacancies over the next three years, increasing the number of seats in the Group C examination scheduled for January, and conducting background checks on candidates before appointing the MPSC chairman and secretary.

The government’s position on the protesters’ demand for the removal of MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimnawar remained unclear. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who has joined the protest, welcomed Mundhe’s appointment to the committee. He expressed hope that the panel would be given sufficient independence to carry out its work effectively.