PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation standing committee on Tuesday approved a proposal stating that the civic body should be given the authority to allot food licences and carry out inspections of eateries in the city. The same powers were given to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) three years back.
Two elected members had submitted the proposal, which stated that since 1966, food inspectors of the civic administrations were allotting food licences to eateries. The new law on food and drug safety came into effect in 2011. As per the provisions of the law, the FDA was given the power to issue licences and carry out inspections. The FDA office issued a circular in this regard and the civic administration officials handed over their responsibilities. However, the civic administration is yet to receive any official order from the state or the Central government over handing over of these powers.
"Since the civic administration has not received any official order from the government, the Pune Municipal Corporation officials should be able to allot the licences," said Bapu Karne, chairman of the committee. "Three years back, these officials had the responsibility of allotting permits to hotels and carrying out inspections. The health department officials can handle this responsibility," he said.
The proposal added that the municipal corporation is loosing revenue as the PMC officials are not carrying out the work. The administration can earn through the licence fees and fines and the restoration of powers is needed to increase the civic body's revenue
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