HYDERABAD: Terming the affidavits filed by the officials as vague and false about steps taken to check food safety violations and use of carbide for artificial ripening of fruits, a division bench of the Telangana High Court has directed the State Special Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, to file a detailed affidavit informing the number of criminal cases registered against erring fruit traders, pendency of cases, number of acquittals etc.
The bench also wanted know about the number of food safety officers (FSOs) and designated officers (DOs) required for the State.
"To say the least, the Court finds the affidavit filed by Special Chief Secretary (Medical and Health), A Santhi Kumari not only vague, but statements false. While she claims that 74 ethylene chambers (gas chambers meant for artificial ripening of fruits) have been constructed by the government, there is no evidence to buttress the plea. Moreover, the affidavit is silent about the status of criminal cases. Interestingly, the tabular forms in the affidavit were nothing but copy of the earlier affidavits," the bench observed.
The bench was passing this order recently in a suo moto taken up PIL case based on a news item published in a vernacular daily in 2015 on rampant use of calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Pursuant to earlier direction of the court, the Special Chief Secretary has filed an affidavit stating that 61 posts of FSOs were sanctioned, and there is a proposal to sanction 19 more posts.
The Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) has issued a notification for recruiting 36 FSOs. Besides, five posts of gazetted food inspectors were filled in Sept last. The department has found 256 cases of food safety violations and use of calcium carbide, and there were 19 convictions.
The government has built three ethylene chambers and 74 chambers were under construction, the affidavit said.After perusing the affidavit, the bench expressed its displeasure and said that the affidavit was silent on criminal cases, acquittals and also on creation of DO posts.
Special counsel for Telangana A Sanjeev Kumar submitted that 36 posts have been sanctioned for which notification was issued and that carbide is no longer being used to ripen fruits. Senior counsel and amicus curiae S Niranjan Reddy submitted that the state requires 80 FSOs and 35 DOs, but these posts have not been created by the State.
After hearing both sides, the bench directed the special chief secretary to file a detailed affidavit with regard to years in which criminal cases were registered, pending cases and number of acquittals.
Further, it directed the officer to indicate the time required for completion of 74 ethylene chambers and places where they were being built. Besides, the bench directed agriculture secretary to file an affidavit whether carbide is available in the market.The matter was posted to Jan 29 for further hearing.
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