The mobile eateries (food vans) operating in the city lack proper legal authorisation and are operating illegally in the city. It has been learnt that the three departments involved in this--the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) and the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) lack a proper mechanism for granting No Objection Certificate (NOC) to these mobile eateries and also to check these regularly.
It is also pertinent to mention that these mobile eateries have to mandatorily take NOCs from the departments concerned. The vans operating in the city take registration under the category of retailers from the FSSAI which makes it difficult for the officials to spot the vehicles in documentation. Also as per the norms of the FSSAI, the seller should have medical checkups every six months and the certificate should always remain with the seller. None of such vehicles running in the city is registered with the RTO while the MCD too doesn’t have a record.
When asked about it, Dehradun assistant regional transport officer Arvind Pandey said, ‘‘We do have a provision for these mobile canteens which clearly states that all these vehicles are supposed to get registered in the RTO. The fitness of the vehicle, modification is checked by us and then the NOC is granted. Anyone caught even changing the vehicle colour without our permission has to pay a fine.
These mobile eateries running in the city are all illegal as none are registered by us. A drive to impose fine and seize these vehicles will be started by us soon.’’
Land department superintendent of MCD, Dharmesh Painuly said, ‘‘We do not have a record of these mobile eateries. We have a limited role to play in this. If a vehicle is moving in the city we cannot stop it. However, if the vehicle is stationary and then selling its products that comes under encroachment category. We recently have imposed fines on such stationary vehicles.’’
As per a source, the FSSAI in Dehradun conducted a survey in the year 2013 when the mobile eateries were listed and were also given particular numbers.
The operators of such eateries were also given training to achieve the standards set by the FSSAI. However, after that, no such training was given to these owners.
The department has six Food Safety Officers (FSO) who are assigned for the city. The shortage of the staff and resources further prevents these FSOs from conducting proper checks in their areas.
When asked about it, the designated officer, food safety, GC Kandwal said, ‘‘It is true that we lack resources as well as staff. We have only six FSOs assigned to different areas. We have sent a letter to the government regarding the issue.’’