Jurisdiction: 625 sq. km. Population: 78 lakh plus.
Eateries: 20,000 plus. And the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
(GHMC) has just four officers to ensure food safety under its
jurisdiction.
Under the Food Safety & Standards
Act, the city administration should have adequate number of food safety
officers to monitor all food establishments, draw samples for analysis
and surveillance, act against unsafe food and ensure that food poisoning
or similar such episodes do not occur.
However,
against a team of officials with the required assisting staff and other
paraphernalia, the GHMC has just four officers. According to Corporation
estimates, there are more than 20,000 eateries of varying scope, from
roadside pushcart vendors to star hotels. Add to them, other facilities
such as school and college hostel canteens, working men and women
hostels and canteens at government offices, and the list goes on.
“We
are expected to monitor all these facilities and ensure that food and
water are proper, that there is no contamination or poisoning, that
kitchens and serving areas are clean and hygienic, and that no stale
food is being dished out,” says a senior official.
He asks, “Yes, we have to do all of this. But can only four officials with little or no support staff do it?”
The
Corporation has been looking forward to having more food safety
officers on its rolls. It was also decided to have an officer each for
its 18 circles. Even staff strengthening seems a distant possibility,
say senior officials.
“It might take a year, two years or more also. We do not know,” says a health and sanitation wing official.
The
shortage of staff is obvious from the fact that though the city has
such a large number of eateries, Food Inspectors could book only 45
cases in 2010, 54 in 2011 and 135 in 2012. Additional Commissioner
(Health & Sanitation) L.Vandan Kumar concedes staff shortage and
says that the Corporation is hoping to get 18 Circle-wise officers soon.
“For
now, we are focusing on areas with heavy concentration of eateries.
Weekly targets are given to our officers, and review held at the
weekend,” he says.
Canteens at school and college hostels have been listed out for inspection next week.
“We have some complaints, and we intend acting on them,” Mr. Kumar says.
Incidentally,
the civic administration of a happening city like Hyderabad does not
even have a laboratory of its own to test food samples collected during
raids, forcing it to depend on other institutions.
Source:http://www.thehindu.com
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