E-Paper
NBCL-accredited PMC lab lying idle for 2 yrs
The laboratory started by PMC in 2011 to test food and water samples and received NBCL accreditation in 2015 is lying idle for the last two years due to the lackadaisical approach of the civic administration
PUNE: The laboratory started by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in 2011 to test food and water samples for the public and government authorities was the first to get a National Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NBCL) accreditation in 2015, however it has been lying idle for the last more than two years due to the lackadaisical approach of the civic administration.
An inquiry under the Right to Information (RTI) has found that the laboratory was run by a private agency for five years till 2018 while the renewed proposal for renting out the laboratory to private players so that the PMC would get revenue was approved by the standing committee in 2019 but has been awaiting the general body’s approval ever since. Owing to apathy on the part of the administration and ruling party, the PMC has been losing out on revenue ever since.
Earlier, the PMC was paying the private agency around Rs53 lakh per annum to run the laboratory. Till 2018, the PMC paid the agency Rs3.56 crore for running the laboratory. The corporation also spent around Rs60 lakh on chemicals, electricity bills and other expenses during this period.
Vivek Velankar, founder of the city-based Sajag Nagrik Manch, said, “The PMC started a laboratory and provided a facility to test food and water samples for the public and government authorities. It was run by a private player till 2018. Objecting to the wastage of public money, the PMC tabled a proposal in the standing committee to rent out the laboratory to private players so that it would get Rs30 lakh per annum in revenue. The proposal was sanctioned in July 2019 in the standing committee. But, it is pending approval of the general body and the PMC is losing out on revenue since 2019. It is a waste of taxpayers’ money that was used to set up a laboratory to provide facilities to common citizens.”
“On the one hand, the corporation is trying to find other sources to boost revenue while on the other, they are not bothered about running existing facilities to earn revenue,” Velankar said.
Being the second government laboratory in Pune district and only the first to get NBCL accreditation, the laboratory (while it was active) issued quality certificates under the Food Safety Act to the public and government authorities. To begin with, the laboratory tested meat from the PMC-owned abattoir in Salunke Vihar, Kondhwa. Later, it began testing food (milk, butter, ghee, edible oil, cooked food and vegetable- and meat- products); water; and sewage water.
A PMC health officer said, “The corporation was testing around 1,000 samples every year, including food and water. The corporation’s in-house samples of water and meat (PMC runs slaughter houses) were also tested in the laboratory. Now, the PMC will have to follow all procedures to get NBCL certification. The new contractor will have to pay around Rs3 crore to the NBCL as deposit and will have to follow all procedures to get NBCL certification due to the laboratory being inactive.”
Meanwhile, Dr Ashish Bharati, chief medical officer of the corporation, maintained, “The proposal has been tabled in the general body meeting. After approval, the laboratory will resume as early as possible.”
Ganesh Bidkar, leader of the house of the PMC, claimed, “Due to Covid-19, the general body meeting could not be conducted physically. We will now take up the issue.”
