Set up more National Testing House labs, advises Panel

The Centre should consult states for setting up of small centers in semi-urban and small towns

A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to expand the network of National Testing House (NTH) laboratories across the country to make its facilities easily available to public.

Kolkata-headquartered NTH, which is under the administrative control of the Consumer Affairs Ministry, is a premier institute for testing, evaluation and quality control of various engineering materials and finished products. It has six regional laboratories.

Stating that the 100-year-old National Testing House (NTH) is known for its credibility of quality work, a Parliamentary Standing Committee said in its latest report: "The committee notes that the Supreme Court and CBI also rely on testing by the NTH and the quality certificates issued by NTH is accepted by all."

NTH was given the task of testing some parts of the Brahmos missile and machinery of Nuclear Power plant in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. Even SAARC countries send their samples for testing to the NTH, it added.

The committee, headed by Vilas Muttemwar, suggested that the government should widen the network of NTH laboratories as "private labs are not always accessible to people and quality of their testing is also not reliable".

"It is high time the government explored the possibility of expanding the network of NTH laboratories throughout the country," it said in a report tabled in Parliament last week.

The panel said, the government should take necessary steps to open new laboratories in all parts of the country not only to benefit a large number of population but also to lessen the burden of existing six laboratories.

It also suggested that the Centre should initiate consultations with state governments for setting up of small testing centers in semi-urban and small towns.

The committee also asked the government to fill up all 230 vacancies in NTH on urgent basis, besides recruiting IT professional separately to perform IT works exclusively instead of burdening the scientists.