Milk adulterators may be jailed for 3 years

The state government on Tuesday announced that milk adulteration would soon be punished stringently and perpetrators would be put behind the bars for minimum 3 years of rigorous imprisonment instead of present term of six months.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Girish Bapat announced in the state assembly that state Government is effecting amendment in criminal procedure code section 272 to 276 to deal with milk adulteration cases. He informed that milk tankers entering city of Mumbai would also be checked stringently. 

He added to introduce stringent punishment for adulterartion and for amending the CrPC, the state Government has availed permission from the Union Government. Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil had raised the issue of milk adulteration through calling attention motion. Bapat informed the House that while effecting the amendments, government wants to prevent the loopholes in the present provisions in the act. He informed that it is being done after due consultation and advice from experts in the field. 

The Minister informed that four mobile vans have been deployed to track and prevent such adulterated milk tankers. Members Balasaheb Thorat, Subhash Sabane, Rahul Kul and Atul Bhatkhalkar also asked supplementary questions on this issue.