Testing times for food inspectors

Ramkrishan Upadhyay   

Tribune News Service   

Chandigarh, May 5

The Food and Supplies Department has decided to test the knowledge of food inspectors regarding schemes floated by Centre related to their department.   

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the first test in a series will be  conducted tomorrow in which they will be  asked to  answers  questions related to the National  Food Security Act and the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme.  

Bhavna Garg, Secretary of the  Department of Food and Civil Supplies,  who has introduced the test, said the aim was to find out how much the  staff knew about the schemes.  

She said inspectors had to deal with people on a daily basis and it was their responsibility to implement the Act by ensuring that the beneficiaries got their dues.

She said if they did not have a proper knowhow, they would not be able to implement the Act properly.  

 Sources said the inspectors had been given sufficient time to study the Act. The test will comprise two sections. They will be asked to answer objective  type questions and their writing  skills  will also  be tested  by asking  them to  write on a given topic. They may also  be asked to  give   recommendations on how the Act could be  implemented in a better way in  the city. 

 Garg said the result of the test would reflect in their ACRs. Sources  said 12  inspectors were at present working in the department. 

 The National Food Security Act  seeks to make the right to food and nutritional security legal by providing specific entitlements to certain groups. 

Chandigarh is the first  city   in the   country where both schemes  — the National  Food Security  Act and the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme — were introduced and the Administration  was rewarded for it.