Paswan calls for tougher provisions to punish food adultrators

Batting for consumers' right to get good quality, adulteration-free products, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday called for tougher provisions to punish food adultrators. His directions came during an Inter-Session Consultative Committee Meeting of the Ministry to review the functioning of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Reviewing the functioning of the BIS, the committee suggested that consumers should be given good quality, adulteration-free products and tougher provisions should be made for punishing food adultrators as it had adverse effect on the health of the consumers. Paswan said it was a matter of public concern and that regular inspection of all stock should be done to ensure quality product is delivered to the final consumer.

The BIS officials told the committee about several new initiatives such as digitisation of various activities, online approval of licenses besides future plans to utilise surplus funds towards construction of more field offices, new lab. Paswan said the main objective of the FCI was to ensure that farmers get their due share and all possible efforts were made to ensure that.

In context of the creation of 4,000 new vacancies at the FCI soon, Paswan asked for a special provision to provide reservation to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the backdrop of 10 per cent quota to the general category.