Vijayawada: The food safety department is languishing in staff crunch. According to the new Food Safety Act which has come into force on August 5, 2011, AP should have 629 employees in the department working at various levels. But at present only 29 employees are working in the food safety department of AP and 17 in Telangana. After the new Act came into force, all the neighbouring states have increa-sed their strength.
Tamil Nadu has 520 employees in food safety department, Karnataka has 275, Kerala has 175 and Maharashtra is having 380 employees.
Health minister Kamineni Srinivas said on Friday that 26 people will be recruited through APPSC soon to strengthen the department. But the officials were saying that at least 200 people are needed in the department to keep a tight vigil across the state. A senior official in the department said they do not even have vehicles to go from one place to another. “We have been working with meagre resources,” said the official.
State bifurcation has also comes as one of the reasons for lack of staff. As the department was in the 10th schedule, the employees bifurcation was not completed and the two governments are in wait and watch mode to see the bifurcation to takes place.
“We have information about making artificial milk powder, adulterated jaggery using sulphur dioxide and using chemicals on pulses to get better colours, but could not act with the staff crunch,” said a senior official.
