Nagpur: Amid Maharashtra FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s statewide hygiene crackdown and subsequent Bombay high court remarks putting govt canteens under the scanner, the state has cleared a 3 crore overhaul of kitchens at Mumbai’s Mantralaya, with a Nagpur expert playing a key role in planning the revamp.The Aug 14 govt resolution grants administrative and financial approval for modernisation of Mantralaya Canteen in the main building and Square Meal Canteen in the annexe. Of the 3 crore approved, 64.96 lakh is for civil works and 2.36 crore for electrical, exhaust and allied works.Prashant Virkhare, head of Tourism at Govt Polytechnic, Nagpur, who was appointed technical adviser for the exercise, told TOI that he visited the Mumbai canteen five times to analyse and survey the works. “We studied the plan, completed the layout planning and civil-related recommendations and submitted the proposal to the state govt for final approval,” Virkhare said.The GR records that the department lacked technical manpower for modernisation and that Virkhare inspected both canteens before submitting his report on June 18. It also acknowledges that while exhaust systems existed, there was no ventilation arrangement in the kitchens or provision for cooling, citing food safety, hygiene and employee safety as concerns.The GR proposes structural repairs, flooring and wall tiles, washable and waterproof surfaces, stainless-steel modular and energy-efficient equipment, mechanical exhaust and HVAC systems, improved washing and sanitisation facilities, fly-proof screens and hand-washing arrangements.Sources associated with the revamp said the project preceded Mundhe-led crackdown by one to two months. They said physical infrastructure work required surveys, identification of bottlenecks, layouts and multiple approvals before execution. The subsequent food-safety scrutiny, they added, may have given momentum to an already ongoing process.The GR itself traces the exercise to a March 12 review meeting, months before HC intervention. Work is scheduled to begin during 2026-27 and must comply with FSSAI and fire-safety norms.
