HC expresses displeasure for not providing details of formalin contamination in imported fish

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court expressed serious displeasure over the State government and the agencies concerned for not providing details of formalin contamination in imported fish and the remedial steps taken by them to curb the menace, despite repeated instructions from the court.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Sandeep Meheta and Justice Mitali Thakur heard the PIL (31/2023) from Hasibur Rahman today.

The High Court gave the State Government the right to submit its affidavit giving details of the averments made in the PIL within a month. The State Government sought more time, but the High Court denied the plea.

The Court told the authorities concerned as to why they failed to submit the report of formalin contamination in imported fish even after two instructions from the bench.

The issue hogged the limelight after the research findings of Nagaon College that the imported fish in Assam contain formaldehyde, arsenic, and cadmium that are highly harmful to consumers.

On behalf of the petitioner, advocate P. Agarwal said that, as per the affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent state authorities, pursuant to the test reports charted in the affidavit, the district nodal officers were appointed for monitoring and carrying out regular sample collection from the fish markets in their respective jurisdictions, and formalin detection kits were also distributed. She said that, to date, no latest report regarding tests carried out, if any, pursuant to the said instruction has been placed on record. She further said that detailed reports, of which the consolidated chart has been presented in the affidavit, have not been provided to her despite pertinent directions given by the Court on the previous date.

The bench directed the State Additional Senior Government Advocate to ensure that the reports in original, as referred to in the affidavit of the State Government, are provided to the learned counsel representing the petitioner as well as to the learned counsel for the co-respondents.

The details of the steps taken, if any, by the Nodal Officer concerned in terms of the averments made in paragraph 4 of the affidavit shall also be placed on record after supplying a copy thereof to learned counsel for the petitioner.

The bench will hear the PIL on October 18 this year.

Various agencies of the state government were on their toes soon after the publication of the research findings of Nagaon College. Food inspectors and other officials frequented fish markets. However, with the passage of time, the enthusiasm has vanished into thin air. Earlier in 2019, there was a ruckus in the state over the contamination of imported fish with formalin. The situation had come to such a pass that the entry of imported fish from Andhra Pradesh had stopped for ten days. Even consumers avoided imported fish at that time. In the absence of a concrete mechanism to check the import of fish on a daily basis, the people of the state will continue to consume formalin-contaminated fish.

Also Read:   Assam: Toxic Formalin Found in Fishes at Mariani Fish Market

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