JK to sign ` 32 crore MoU with GoI for drug testing
The weak and neglected food and drug testing sector in JK is gearing up for a major overhaul as Government of India (GoI) has agreed to fund upgrading of drug testing in state with a grant of Rs 32 crore, officials told Greater Kashmir on Wednesday.
They said a similar proposal has been sought from the state by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSAI) for strengthening food testing infrastructure while the State funded mobile testing vans and other food testing equipment stands ordered.
It’s in place to mention here that about a year after High Court took a suo-moto cognizance of the grave shortcomings in the food and drug testing department, especially the testing laboratories when Greater Kashmir carried a series of reports about these concerns, following which the state government woke up and set the ball rolling to pay attention towards this vital sector.
Of the Rs 7.75 crores that were allocated by the government to Drug and Food Control Organisation (DFCO) for improving testing facilities in Budget 2016, requisitions worth Rs 6.5 crores were placed with JK Medical Supplies Corporation.
JKMSCL has also placed orders for food testing equipment worth Rs 5 crore equipment for the two food testing laboratories in state. In addition, five fully equipped mobile food testing laboratories are being procured through JKMSCL at the cost of Rs 1.75 crores.
Managing Director JKMSCL Dr Yashpal Sharma said that orders have been placed and the process was going on. “It is in final stages,” he said.
“By February ending most of the equipment will be with us,” he added. He said that only two equipment that required licensing from USA would take longer than three months. “We are strictly following the court directions,” he said.
Officials in DFCO refuted the reports of the state allocated funds for strengthening of drug testing in state being utilized for civil works in the department. “The civil works are being carried out of the Capital Expenditure Budget of the department, an annual amount of over Rs 1 crore,” Controller DFCO, Lotika Khajuria said.
She added that in addition Rs 1 Crore from the state funds allocated for food testing are being utilized for constructing Microbiology Lab for food testing, without which it was not possible to detect microbial contamination in food items.
Officials in the Health and Medical Education said that the state had secured agreement for GoI funding for upgrading infrastructure of Drugs Regulatory System. A MoU in this regard would soon be signed between the state government and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), they said.
“We had submitted a proposal of Rs. 34 crore to Ministry (MoHFW) and we have been informed that it has been accepted under the Central Assistance Scheme,” a senior official in H&ME said.
On the same lines, under Rs 482 crore GoI scheme for ‘Strengthening Food Testing Infrastructure in States’, JK has been asked to submit a detailed proposal with project estimates.
Confirming the developments, Controller DFCO said, “They (GoI) has earmarked Rs 482 crore for the food testing facilities upgradation after a recent Mumbai High Court judgment about the lacunae in this crucial sector.”
She added that the scheme had provisions for Microbiology labs, Air Handling Units and other critical needs in such laboratories. “We are furnishing a detailed project report and are quite positive that we will get the funding,” she stated. The scheme was rolled out in November and will target ‘45 State/UT food testing labs (at least one in each State/UT with a provision of two labs in larger states) and 14 referral food testing labs will be upgraded to enable them to obtain NABL accreditation as per FSSAI guidelines.
She said that High Court was closely monitoring all expenditures by the department as well as funding sources. Departments like DFCO, SSRB, JKMSCL and state government representatives are summoned in High Court every month for compliance to court orders with regard to food and drug safety. The state government which is the prime respondent in the case is required to submit monthly reports about the steps being taken in this regard to the court.
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