CAG: Food dept fell far behind projected licence figure

The Delhi government had introduced the online payment system for licensing and registration of FBOs in the national capital — a move aimed at ensuring transparency in the system 

Audit report says the department issued licences to only 49,796 food operators against the figure of 2 lakh

The shortage of staffers in the Department of Food Safety, government of Delhi, has badly affected the overall licensing process, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has stated in its audit report. The department issued licences to only 49,796 food operators against the projected figure of 2 lakh in 2015-2016.

In addition, no licence was issued to operators dealing in alcohol, flouting the guidelines issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). In December 2012, the FSSAI had decided that all Food Business Operators (FBOs) dealing in alcoholic drinks and wines should obtain licences or Registration Certificates (RC) from the respective authorities.

"Audit scrutiny revealed that the department did not cover FBOs dealing in alcoholic drinks and wines in Delhi. They did not check whether the FBOs concerned had acquired the requisite licences or whether these were still valid. The department attributed non-coverage of such FBOs to shortage of staff," the CAG report stated.

Last year, the Delhi government had introduced the online payment system for licensing and registration of FBOs in the national Capital, a move aimed at ensuring transparency in the system. The Drug Control and Food Safety Department had also introduced a credit note system in dealings between the food safety officers and the FBOs, which used to be in cash.

"The projected figure of 2 lakh FBOs could not be verified in the audit. Further, the department issued only 49,796 licences and RCs, with a 75 per cent shortfall in coverage of 150,204 FBOs under the new Act, up to March 2016. In the absence of reliable database, the possibility of FBOs operating without licences and RCs cannot be ruled out," the CAG report stated.

The audit examination also revealed that the department neither evolved any mechanism to collect from previous enforcement agencies the information on FBOs operating under the previous Acts and Orders, nor conducted any survey to prepare a database of all FBOs.

"Audit noticed that in the absence of database of FBOs, the department failed to cover FBOs, in terms of issuance of licences or RCs and lifting of samples, dealing in mass consumption of food items such as mid-day meals in schools, packaged drinking water, alcoholic drinks and wines, and milk," a senior official said.

The mid-day meal scheme is a central scheme designed to improve the nutritional status of school children. Scrutiny of records also revealed that the Central Advisory Committee (CAC) of FSSAI, in its 10th meeting in September, 2013, emphasised on monitoring of the scheme and other government food supply programmes to ensure safety of food being supplied.

In 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government had made available various licences issued by the Excise Department online, including excise, luxury, and others, to ensure a transparent system.