Swiggy, Zomato, others remove 10,500 restaurants for violating food safety law
New Delhi, Dec 14: As many as 10,500 restaurants have been de-listed by e-commerce firms like Zomato and Swiggy for not having license or registration under the food safety law, Parliament was told Friday.
Minister of state for health Ashwini Kumar Choubey said the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India or FSSAI in July directed food e-commerce firms to de-list the the restaurants which don't have registration under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.
"The Food delivery aggregators informed that they have already initiated action against the defaulting partner hotels/restaurants.
"As per information received, Zomato has delisted 2,500, Swiggy 4,000, Foodpanda 1,800, UberEats 2,000 and foodcloud 200 unlicensed/unregistered FBOs," he said in reply to a question.
The implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 Rules and Regulations made thereunder, primarily rests with state and UT governments, he said.
Commissioner of Food Safety of all states and UTs have been requested to take necessary action to bring all such FBOs or food business operators under the ambit of FSS Act through registration.
No one shall commence or carry on any food business without license or registration under the Act, he said.
Choubey stated further regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food products are carried out by officials to check compliance of the standards and norms.
In case where the food samples are found to be non- conforming, penal action has been initiated, he stated.
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Delhi L-G slams Kejriwal, says calling Atishi 'temporary CM' insult to president
New Delhi, Dec 30: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday expressed concern over AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal labelling Atishi a "temporary chief minister" and called it a "flagrant disregard for the democratic spirit and values enshrined in the Constitution".
In a letter to the chief minister, Saxena said Kejriwal's remark was an insult to President Droupadi Murmu, who appointed her, as well as himself as her representative.
"A few days ago, when your predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal, publicly declared you as a temporary or stopgap chief minister in the media, I found this highly objectionable, and I was hurt by it. This was not only an insult to you but also to the president of India, and to me, in my capacity as her representative," Saxena said.
"The public explanation given by Kejriwal regarding the temporary or stopgap nature of your position has no constitutional provision and is a flagrant disregard for the democratic spirit and values enshrined in the Constitution created by BR Ambedkar," he added.
Saxena also praised Atishi for working on addressing various administrative issues after taking charge.
"During my two-and-a-half years of tenure, I have witnessed the person occupying the position of chief minister actually performing the duties of the chief minister," Saxena wrote to Atishi.
The lieutenant governor also extended his new year greetings to her.
"While your predecessor had no department under his charge and did not sign files, you have taken on the responsibility of various departments and have tried to address various administrative issues," he said.
Saxena added the circumstances under which Atishi was made chief minister, the responsibility for failures in completing the various pending works would be attributed to her after her own party's leader declared her as "stopgap".
"The way in which, in your presence, Kejriwal has made unauthorised announcements about senior citizens' and women's schemes in the name of the chief minister has tarnished the dignity of the office of the chief minister and the council of ministers," he said.
Recently, through public notices issued by two Delhi government departments, people were warned to be cautious regarding registration for "non-existent schemes" initiated by the former chief minister, Saxena said in his letter to Atishi.
"This incident is unprecedented and must have undoubtedly been uncomfortable for you," he added.
"However, I also appreciate the departmental officials who, while fulfilling their duties, presented the correct facts to the public regarding the misleading schemes and their registration in the interest of the public," he further said.
Saxena alleged that Kejriwal had been making public statements without any basis or facts, claiming that the transport department and other investigative agencies would probe into Atishi and send her to jail.
"This is not only false but such statements also imply that you are unaware of the activities of the departments working under you. In fact, it has now come to light through newspapers that the additional chief secretary of the transport department has written to inform you that neither any such action is being taken by their department or the vigilance department, nor has there ever been any discussion about it. He has completely rejected Kejriwal's statements, labelling them as baseless and misleading," Saxena said.
"As lieutenant governor, I am concerned about this level of public discourse and, at the same time, hurt by the conversation that portrays the full-time chief minister of my government as a temporary one," he added.
