The Hindu 27.08.2013
4 officials for 20,000 eateries
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.
