Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 19: The High Court today sought personal appearance of Commissioner/Secretary ARI and Training including Commissioner Food Safety in case proposal amendment to recruitment rules is not cleared as also vacancies in Food Safety department are not filled up.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice D S Thakur while hearing a Public Interest against the food adulteration directed the proposal for amendment to recruitment rules be cleared and pending vacancies in Food Safety department are filled as early as possible.
The direction followed after the submissions of amicus curie and senior advocate B A Bashir that despite availability of mobile food testing laboratories no sample is taken randomly as these mobile vans san technicians.
Advocate Bashir apart from this submission also informed the Court that the whole department of food safety is very short of expert staff resulting into general public is consuming poisonous food which has caused numerous stomach diseases among the people.
Court to this has been informed by certain officers of the department who were present today that the difficulty to them for filling up of various vacancies in the department is the proposal for amendment in recruitment rules is pending before the department of ARI & Trainings.
Court keeping in view of this situation directed Commissi-oner/Secretary to ARI & Trainings to clear such proposal with regard to amendment in recruitment rules or be present in the Court in default.
Advocate Bashir emphasized on Court that unless these vacancies are not filled, the proper checking of food adulteration would be hampered.
Court for filling up of various posts which are vacant for a long time directed the personal appearance of Commissioner FSA in case these posts are not filled after proper process of selection.
Earlier, Court had observed that food adulteration in the State is a serious matter and no legal cell is in place as such the aspect of prosecution against food adulterators is adversely affected.
Officers of the Food Safety department fairly admitted before the Court that the State is under an obligation to ensure the implementation of the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and further added that the State Government shall take all positive steps to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Act.
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