"Vilasrao Deshmukh was a good administrator, his role in RTI Act, Gramsabha Act, Office Delay Act in Maharashtra was very important," Hazare was quoted as saying by his close aide Suresh Pathare on twitter.
The Union minister died in Chennai yesterday after suffering from a liver ailment.
It was Deshmukh who had mediated between Hazare and the government in August last year when the activist was on an indefinite fast on Lokpal Bill.
However, his team had put Deshmukh in a list of 15 Union Ministers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and demanded that a special team of retired judges probe allegations of corruption against him.