Extend jurisdiction of food safety: Gauhati High Court

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A division bench of the Gauhati High Court requested the Assam Food Safety Commissioner to extend the jurisdiction of the Food Safety Department to undertake their activities in the agricultural fields, if necessary, to detect the contaminated vegetables and take appropriate action. The bench also requested the Agriculture Department to cooperate inasmuch as it is a necessity in the public interest to eradicate the availability of contaminated vegetables in the markets, which, as per the report that has been placed before the Court, has a serious impact on the health of the citizens. “If the two departments face any difficulty in carrying forward the above activities, the same may be brought to the notice of the Court,” the bench said.

The High Court today heard the PIL (18/2018) filed by Advocate Seema Bhuyan.

During the hearing, the Deputy Solicitor General of the Central Government, RKD Choudhury, informed the Court that the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, has certain kits for detection of contaminated substances in vegetables, but such kits would only be in respect of 12 of the items mentioned in the report of Dr. Prasun Kumar Mukherjee, Head Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division. “Even if the testing kits would be applicable for 12 of the contaminated elements, we are still of the view that the same would enable the authorities to progress further in detecting the contaminated vegetables, at least for the purpose of such 12 contaminated substances,” Choudhury informed the Court.

The Court, accordingly, requested BARC to carry forward the protocol required to make such testing kits available to the Agriculture Department and the Food Safety Department of the Government of Assam for the end use of such testing kits. Abhijit Baruah, Commissioner, Food Safety Department, Government of Assam, was personally present before the Court. He said that the Department was earnestly pursuing detecting the contaminated substances in the vegetables, but the problems that arise are that the contamination takes place at the level where vegetables are produced in the agricultural fields.

The Court listed the PIL for its next hearing on May 30, 2023.

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