Kaithal Food Safety Officer told to vacate Health Department office

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Kaithal, July 5

Due to shortage of space for his staff and officials, the Kaithal Civil Surgeon has asked the District Drugs Controller and in-charge of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to vacate the building of the Health Department in 15 days. They have been using it as their office for the past two years.

“We have been facing shortage of space and several officials are not given separate offices due to this. I have written to both departments to vacate the offices in 15 days,” said Civil Surgeon Dr Shailender Mamgain Shelly.

In his letter, the Civil Surgeon mentioned that both departments were separated from the Health Department two years ago and they had to vacate it for giving space to the offices of the department running in the old building, a portion of which had been declared unsafe by the PWD (B&R).

As per officials, the malaria division, TB division, NHM division, drug warehouse and the central store of the Civil Surgeon are being run from an ‘unsafe’ building.

FDA district in-charge Rajender Kumar said: “The matter has been brought to the notice of the FDA Commissioner so that space for a new office can be arranged.”

District Drugs Controller Mandeep Mann said, “The Civil Surgeon can’t ask us to vacate the office. The Health Department is still the parent department of the FDA and the Civil Surgeon is not the competent authority to get the office vacated. Either, the ACS (Health) or the DC can ask for it. The FDA Commissioner has already written a letter to all DCs of the state, directing them to provide around 4,500 sq feet for the office of the FDA at each district headquarters”