A delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) meets Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday at his residence at New Delhi.
New Delhi, January 16, 2014: A delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) met Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday at his residence at New Delhi and while presenting a detailed memorandum on The Food Safety and Standards Act requested him to defer the Act for at least one year and constitute a Joint Committee of Senior Government Officials and Leaders of Trading Community to make an in depth study of the Act and to recommend the Government necessary amendments required to be made in the Act to make it simple and enabling easy compliance.
The CAIT delegation was led by its Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal and was comprised of prominent trade leaders from different States including A.M.Vikram Raja and K. Mohan from Tamilnadu, Ramesh Khanna from New Delhi, Mahesh Bakhai from Maharashtra, etc. K. V. Thangabalu, Member of Parliament also accompanied the delegation.
Azad while realising the fact that not only the small traders but even other sections of society which are connected with the issue are facing lot of harassment and corruption at the hands of the Inspectors of Government Departments in different States who are victimising the traders on pretext of certain provisions of the Act which are impracticable, has assured the delegation that he will defer the Act and will constitute a Joint Committee of Senior Officials and Trade Leaders to have a re-look at the said Act and suggest the amendments necessary to make it a law which can be comply easily. He also said that the Government wants a law to ensure good quality food available in the Country which may not prove to be hazardous for the health of people but at the same time it is not the intention of the Government to put traders or any other section into difficulties.
Prior to it the delegation presented an exhaustive memorandum to Azad detailing the provisions of the Act which are much detrimental to Indian Food business and other allied sectors. The delegation also apprised him that in spite of clear instructions of the Government to go lenient on the Act, the Inspectors in various States are extorting huge money from the traders on one pretext or the other. The traders are subject to lot of harassment, corruption and victimisation at the hands of Inspectors. In fact, there is more Inspector Rule prevailing in the Country which needs to have a check else the trade will be distorted to a great extent.
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