சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில் உணவகம் நடத்த உரிமம் பெறாதவர்களுக்கு ரூ.5 லட்சம் அபராதம்; அதிகாரி எச்சரிக்கை

சேலம், ஜன.23-சேலம் மாவட்ட உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறை நியமன அலுவலர் டாக்டர் அனுராதா கூறுகையில், சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில் சுமார் 28 ஆயிரம் உணவு சார்ந்த கடைகள் செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது. இவர்களுக்கு உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறையில் பதிவு செய்து உரிமம் பெறுவதற்கு ஏற்கனவே பல்வேறு கட்டங்களாக காலஅவகாசம் அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இருப்பினும் அடுத்த மாதம் 4-ந் தேதி கடைசி நாளாகும். அதற்குள் உணவகங்கள் மற்றும் உணவு சார்ந்த கடைகளை நடத்தி வரும் நபர்கள் பதிவு செய்து உரிமம் பெற்றுக்கொள்ள வேண்டும். குறிப்பிட்ட தேதிக்குள் உரிமம் பெறாதவர்கள் ரூ. 5 லட்சம் அபராதம் மற்றும் 6 மாதம் சிறை தண்டனைக்கு ஆளாவார்கள். சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில் இதுவரை சுமார் 16 ஆயிரம் பேர் பதிவு செய்துள்ளார்கள். 3 ஆயிரம் பேர் உரிமம் பெற்றுள்ளனர். எனவே, சேலம் மாநகராட்சி மற்றும் மாவட்டம் முழுவதும் உள்ள உணவு உரிமம் மற்றும் பதிவு சான்றிதழ் பெற விரும்புவோர்கள் உடனடியாக அந்தந்த பகுதியில் உள்ள உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அலுவலரை அணுகலாம், என்றார்.

Corpn plans checks to ensure safe meat

Chennai: Meat eaters may breathe a bit easy if the city corporation keeps its promise. On Tuesday, the civic body assured the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it would regularly raid meat stalls across the city and clamp down on illegal slaughterhouses. 

In October, People for Cattle in India trustee G Arun Prasanna had petitioned the NGT pointing out unlawful slaughtering of animals in around 70 places in the city. The corporation submitted reports on November 29 and December 6, but the tribunal was not satisfied with them. When the matter came up for the third hearing on Wednesday, the corporation said in all the zones, a team comprising a health officer, a veterinary assistant surgeon, a sanitary officer and sanitary inspectors would conduct a weekly inspections at slaughterhouses and meat stalls. 

But the tribunal pulled up the civic body for discrepancies in its report. Tribunal chairman Justice Chockalingam said while the corporation had listed 850 illegal stalls at the last hearing, the number had now been reduced to 387. “How can 500 stalls disappear in 45 days?” said the chairman, adding the two reports would show the officials were “determined to either not take action or not file a report with actual facts.” The case has been adjourned to February 18 for further hearing. 

The corporation said there were 1,183 meat stalls in the city, of which 387 were either illegal or working in unhygienic conditions. Notices have been issued to them following which, 34 took license, 69 rectified the conditions, and 12 closed down. Steps have been taken to prosecute the rest. Also, the corporation removed 34 stalls which had opened shop under thatched roofs.During raids in 2012-2013, 10,324kg of rotting meat was seized and destroyed,saidthecivicbody. 

However the corporation said it could not inspect slaughter houses at St Thomas Mount, Perungalathur, Athipet, Pallavaram, Medavakkam, Tambaram, Semabakkam and Ayapkkam as they were not within its ‘limits.’ At Sholinganallur, it found illegal slaughtering of animals on Sundays near the roadside, and stopped the practice. A shop selling meat not cleared by the health department at Anna Nagar was closed, said the civic body.

Rigged panels

Conflict of interest assumes great significance when it comes to statutory regulatory bodies that deal with public health and food safety issues. Vested interests are always working to get rules or standards that work in their favour. This is what happened when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was set up to act as an ‘independent’ food safety regulator five years ago. 

Industry representatives were nominated to scientific committees to set standards for a number of parameters ranging from pesticide content to food labelling. The membership of these panels read like Who’s Who of food industry – Nestle, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Britannia, Marico, ITC, GSK, Hindustan Lever and so on. It was only after being exposed in the press that the Supreme Court took note of it and directed FSSAI to purge its panels. Till then the Authority did not even have a rudimentary conflict of interest policy in place. 

Like the Environment Ministry, the FSSAI too has not learnt any institutional lessons. Industry consultants and scientists working on industry projects continue as members of its scientific panels. The same is the case with the regulatory process for genetically modified food crops. 

Scientific panels are infested with scientists working on seed industry projects or enjoying their grants and at the same time regulating projects of the same sponsors. In one case, a scientist in the regulatory body approved a research project proposed by his wife. Another recent case is of the expert panel that the health ministry set up to decide follow-up action after a damning parliamentary report on human clinical trials. The Ministry chose an expert who is head of clinical trials division of a corporate hospital!