DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

Noida will not give nod for meat shops in slums

The Noida authority has written to the district magistrate to resolve the issue at their level

Meat sellers can only be issued licences if the shops are in areas where municipal services are provided

A group of meat sellers on Monday met Noida authority’s deputy chief executive officer (DCEO) Saumya Srivastava seeking his help in obtaining licences for meat shops in slum areas.

As per norms, the food safety and drug administration (FSDA) can issue a licence only if the applicant produces before them all required documents, including a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Noida authority.

However, the authority made it clear to the meat sellers that it will only issue NOC for a shop if it fulfils all requirements and is located on land where municipal services are provided.

“We can issue NOC to a shop if it is located in a sector or a village. We will not be able to issue NOC for a meat shop located in a slum because we do not provide municipal services there,” said the DCEO.

Following the meat sellers’ demand, the authority has written to the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate (DM) regarding the issue.

“I have written to the district administration and also spoken to the additional DM. We have requested them to deal with licence applications in slums at their own level on the basis of merits or demerits of the applications. The Noida authority will not issue NOCs, so the administration will exercise its powers and take a call as per law,” said Srivastava.

Among the norms set by the authority for an NOC, the shop will have to be located 100 metres from a place of worship, 50 metres from a residential area and have access to municipal facilities.

“We will issue NOC for five shops in a village if the population is less than 4,000 and 10 shops if the population is more than that. In urban areas, licence will be issued to a meat shop only if it was originally allotted for this purpose and is located in a commercial area,” said Raghunandan Singh Yadav, senior project engineer of the Noida authority.

Canned water under threat

Authorities accuse a few packaged water units of flouting norms to draw groundwater; manufacturers flag clearance certificates.

Chennai: 

Though the Tamil Nadu packaged drinking water manufacturers have withdrawn their strike, authorities are said to be at loggerheads with them over depleting groundwater level, putting the availability of canned drinking water in question in the long run.

While the association members say that a total of 350 packaged drinking water manufacturing units operate in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, sources claim that around 200 illegal units are also run by people with political clout. However, V Murali, president of Greater Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers Association, told DTNext that all the units have obtained the environmental clearance apart from certificates from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

“In such a condition, why should the concerned officials pressurise us to close the units. Lakhs of people rely on canned water not only in the city, but across the state. Is curbing the availablity of a life essential to save groundwater level justified?” he asks. While the officials claim that they have only instructed some units that overexploit groundwater and flout the norms to abide by, the association members accuse officials of being discriminatory and claim that they are being threatened to shut down the units without a valid reason.

According to Murali, manufacturers draw water of about 300 million litres a day from 350 units in Chennai region. “Though we have necessary licences from all the departments, sometimes the officials try to close down units for reasons best known to them,” he says. However, Shankar, Chief Engineer of Ground and Surface Water Resources Wing, justifies the department’s action.

“There are some norms, which the drinking water manufactureres do not conform to. We have been periodically instructing such units not to overexploit groundwater beyond prescribed levels and it is monitored through a water meter. But some companies flout the rules and we along with Revenue officials insist the manufacturers to close such units,” he elaborates. He also adds that the PWD is preparing to monitor the units in Chennai region and would ask the manufacturers without a licence not to tap water anymore. 

Shankar says the groundwater level can be maintained if such units located near lakes and rivers without licences are closed. R Kathiravan, Designated Officer, FSSAI, Chennai, says that there are 17 packaged water manufacturing units in the city alone. “We regularly monitor them and if we find the water to be unfit for consumption, we immediately ask the manufacturers to stop processing. After tapping the water, the manufacturers should do the purification process promptly. Some companies would not maintain the equipment properly and in such a scenario there is a possibility for water contamination. So, the manufacturers should be careful during the entire process of purification,” he says. 

Kathiravan adds that regular inspections are conducted to check potability of canned water.

WATER COUNTS

7 to 10 lakh cans of water are supplied to Chennai households on a daily basis

Total number of units in Chennai region: 350

50% of drawn water goes waste in the purification

No of illegal unit: 200

Milk impure

The article on the adulteration of milk (‘Being’ page – “The milk you drink could be laced with detergents”, June 4) is a matter of concern. One only hopes that the random milk samples tested in Delhi did not include samples supplied by government-run dairies. Milk remains the most vital nutritional food of the nation, especially for growing children, and there can be no compromise on its purity and safety standards. The government must conduct nationwide sample tests at all milk producing units in coordination with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the respective State governments. In an environment where we are already being slow poisoned by air and water pollution, chemicals in vegetables and food items, adulterated milk should not be allowed to sneak in as an additional toxin. There needs to be another pure and healthy white revolution.

A. Mohan, Chennai

It is a common knowledge that milk vendors often add water to the milk they supply to households. Adding water to milk — a means of bridging the gap between supply and demand — can be tolerated as it is harmless. But the extent to which the adulteration of milk has been found in the study conducted in Delhi shows that the health authorities concerned could be hand-in-glove with milk suppliers. They deserve exemplary punishment. The adulteration of milk or for that matter any food item should not be permitted.

A. Jainulabdeen, Chennai