There are 32 vacancies in the department and the situation has been the same for three years
One food inspector for 83,333 eateries! With just six food inspectors to monitor the 5 lakh-odd street food vendors, dhabas, cafés and high-end eateries in India's food capital, that's the absurd math the Food and Drug Department deals with everyday.
Tasked with ensuring food quality in the teeming city famous for the sheer variety of food on offer, the department carries out surprise inspections and raids and collects samples of food items to check for adulteration, misbranding or substandard ingredients. But it has only six inspectors to do the job.
There are 32 vacancies in the department and the situation has been the same for three years. The department has been writing to the Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board (DSSSB), responsible for all hiring in the Delhi government, to fill the vacancies and rectify the situation but to no avail.
"We have been writing to the selection board to fill these vacant posts for the last three years," said Dr Mrinalini Darswal, Commissioner, Department of Food Safety, Delhi government.
DSSSB Chairman AC Verma did not respond to DNA's queries.
"From lifting samples to attend court prosecution cases, we have everything on our plate. One day, I am at Badarpur to collect the sample and other day we have to report to the court for some cases. Collecting samples is a cumbersome process and takes a lot of time. It is extremely difficult to manage. From the last three years, we are hoping that someone will join soon but nothing is happening," a food safety officer told DNA on condition of anonymity.
"The work doubles up during festivals like Holi and Diwali when there are high chances of food adulteration," added another food safety officer.
A food safety officer assists the designated officer in all matters related to field inspections, including lifting of samples, instituting prosecution proceedings in a court of law if necessary and attending the hearings.
A food inspector either randomly visits eateries to collect samples or follows up on complains registered by consumers.
"The work of the entire food department rests on these inspectors. Every year, we aim to collect around 2,000-3,000 food samples for testing. And even with the six people we are managing to do that. But this is hampering the overall work too. We get emails from the consumers complaining about the poor food quality even in popular chains and we have to address them," Darswal explained.
The acute lack of personnel can be seen in other departments too. Of 10 sanctioned posts for chemists (food analysts), seven are occupied by
contractual employees, it is learnt. No permanent hiring has been done on these posts.
According to sources, DSSSB has been going through a roller-coaster ride with its chairman getting changed frequently. The Food Department is not the only one suffering.
The Education Department of the MCD had forwarded 1,741 vacancies for special educators (primary) to the DSSSB in 2012. The DSSSB, in turn, notified 1,610 vacancies in February 2012, but recommended only 40 candidates.
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