Ranchi, June 29: Jharkhand High Court today pulled up the state government for not appointing adequate number of health officers to check milk adulteration and directed chief secretary Rajiv Gauba to file an affidavit explaining why.
A division bench of Justice D. N. Patel and Justice Ratnaker Bhengra, hearing a PIL initiated suo motu based on news reports of milk adulteration, wondered whether the government required "special chashma, kiyon ki janta ka dukh nahin dikhai deta (special glasses to see the suffering of the people)".
The judges said there were more than 10,000 milk booths in the state and there weren't enough officers to collect samples of milk for testing - only three food safety officers were working in the health department to cater to a population of 3.5 crore.
Food safety officers are appointed as per provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. Health department joint secretary R.K. Dubey, who was present in the court, said of the eight posts of food safety officers, only three had been filled.
He explained that the health department had sanctioned 188 posts of food safety officers and that these would be filled soon.
Dubey said that from September 2013 till date, 2,858 cases for adulteration in milk had been registered and as many as 25 persons convicted.
The court directed the state government to consult with other states and adopt a pattern to check food adulteration. It directed the chief secretary to file a status report on the government's initiatives to check adulteration in milk and appoint food safety officers.
The high court had in January 2012 taken cognisance of several news reports which confirmed adulteration in milk.
-OVERMATTER-
The reports said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had conducted surveys in Jharkhand and that milk samples tested in a Calcutta lab had been found to contain impurities.
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