The High Court on Wednesday sought a report from the Government on monitoring of different food items in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hearing a suo-motto Public Interest Litigation against foodadulteration, a division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice RashidAli Dar directed the authorities concerned to file the report within fourweeks.
The direction came after the court observed that the statusreport filed by the government did not mention random checks or raids conductedto monitor manufacturing of food items.
As soon as the mattercame up for hearing, advocate Ateeb Kanth informed the court that the statusreport filed by the government is not in consonance with the provisions of FoodSafety and Standard Act 2006.
“The government has not taken food samples from shopkeepersand bakery owners. They have filed a report sans details,” Kanth told thecourt.
State’s Senior Additional Advocate General (AAG) Shah Aamir,however, told the court that the government is taking every step to curb foodadulteration as required under the Act.
“We follow the provisions of the Food Safety and StandardAct. Adulteration is an issue and serious steps are being taken to deal with themenace,” he said.
The court, however, directed the authorities to file withinfour weeks an additional affidavit indicating various steps taken by thegovernment to monitor food items.
For implementation of the Food Safety and Standard Act,2006, the Court has been issuing a slew of directions during the past fouryears. The biggest impediment for the food testing labs is the manpower to runthese labs.
Miffed over the defiance of its directions to providemanpower to the two food testing laboratories and the mobile food testing vansin Jammu and Kashmir, the court in February this year had pulled up topofficials of the state.
The court had directed Principal Secretary Health andMedical Education Department, Commissioner Secretary, Administrative Reforms,Inspections (ARI) and Trainings Department, Commissioner Food Safety andSecretary Services Selection Board to remain present before it.
But the government has not so far informed the court thatthe manpower has been provided to the labs.
In 2016, the High Court had taken suo-moto cognizance ofnews reports published in Greater Kashmir on food adulteration and risingcancer incidence and treated these as a Public Interest Litigation.