Mumbai: Govt office in Aarey Milk Colony turns into a drunken den

One of the government offices of Aarey Milk Colony seems to be turning into a den for tipplers Senior officials attached to the Aarey CEOrsquos office were found drinking liquor in broad daylight inside one of the colonyrsquos officesOn May 30 the NGO We Will Help WWH Charitable Foundation sent a letter to Animal Husbandry amp Dairy Development Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Tukaram Mundhe secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy DevelopmentIn the letter addressed to the dairy minister and secretary the NGO has identified officials from the Aarey CEO office including senior clerk Vijay Kokhare assistant chief executive officer Suryakant Khate agriculture assistant Mahadev Yelkunde and senior clerk Sanjay Jogi The letter alleges that these individuals were observed consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes on official premises during working hours The picture and the names of the officials have also been forwarded to the minister and secretaryEugene Das managing trustee WWH Charitable Foundation said ldquoOut of frequent regular gatherings a recent photo has been taken at the Unit No 5 government nursery office which shows senior government officials from the Aarey CEO office consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes on official premises during working hours We urge the authorities to take serious action against those involved in this inappropriate behaviour The names and photographs of the officials have been submitted to the dairy minister and secretary to take necessary actionrdquoMundhe told midday ldquoThe necessary action will be taken Already directed CEO to take necessary actionrdquoWWH Charitable Foundation has been doing environmental activities and also working with tribals in MaharashtraWith a vision to set up a permanent environmental training and an empowerment centre the NGO requested the state government to sanction the broken dilapidated government nursery at Unit No 5 in Aarey Milk Colony to develop and operate the place Similarly Unit No 20 nursery near Ganesh mandir in Aarey Milk Colony was sanctioned to Global Art Foundation before WWH approvalThe NGO named its project Aarey Vasundhara and envisioned it to transform the land into a sustainability hub and open the doors to communitydriven projects that can add value to livesldquoTo talk the talk and walk the walk it is necessary to understand how to implement environmentfriendly activities in our daily lives Aarey Vasundharamdashan eco villagemdashhopes to bridge the gap educate individuals and empower tribals by altering our perception of life nature and sustainability But unfortunately the extensively corrupt bureaucrats of the Aarey CEOrsquos office started demanding bribes from the NGO to give further approvals and NOCrdquo alleged the NGOThe NGO further alleged that Aarey authorities in their report to the Lokayukta dated March 6 blatantly denied the requirements of any developments according to the detailed project report because their demands were ignored and turned downThe NGO also alleged that the organisation has been frequently harassed by the Aarey CEOrsquos office to the extent that those participating in its activities and children were denied usage of washrooms04No of officials named in letter