INDORE: Indore bench of MP high court has ordered the state government to complete setting up of food testing laboratories in Indore, Jabalpur, and Gwalior within one year from Tuesday.
The division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Rajendra Kumar Verma directed collectors of Indore, Jabalpur, and Gwalior to make all possible efforts so that all food safety laboratories start functioning at their respective places within one year from today (Tuesday).
The bench also directed principal secretary, public health and family welfare, commissioner, food safety and control and collectors to submit progress reports after four months in the office of principal registrar, High Court of Madhya Pradesh Bench at Indore.
Former corporator of Indore, Mahesh Garg through his counsel Pratyush Mishra had filed a PIL in 2017 seeking implementation of provisions of Food Safety Act, 2006 especially setting up of laboratories at Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain and Gwalior.
The petitioner had also sought direction for providing tools to food safety officers for preliminary examination of food articles in case of food adulteration under the FSA, 2006 through the PIL.
Advocate Mishra had submitted that around 50% of samples were not found up to the mark and failed to satisfy the standards. “A laboratory in f Bhopal is not able to handle the entire burden of food samples from state as they are required to be checked within a reasonable time before expiry of shelf life leading to delay in testing. This often resulted in the offender getting benefit of acquittal,” submitted Mishra.
In its reply, FSSAI stated that it had a limited role in providing funds for establishment of laboratories and state government required to establish sufficient labs. State government submitted that state authority had already created 51 posts of designated officers and Food Safety Officers at the local level and a process to fill the posts was on. The government also submitted a status report about labs in the three districts
