Maharashtra: 31% posts in FDA vacant, reveals RTI query

As many as 365 posts of the total 1176 sanctioned by the Maharashtra government in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are vacant, an RTI query has revealed.

RTI activist Anil Galgali had sought information regarding the total posts that were allotted to FDA, along with the ones occupied and the ones that have been left vacant.

"31% of the posts have been lying vacant. For a population of 11 crores of Maharashtra, 1176 posts that have been allotted for the FDA, only 811 posts have been occupied which means that against 1.35 lakh people, there is only one FDA officer in the state," he said.

According to Galgali, FDA was the only department that is directly related to the health of a common man.

The headquarters of the department is in the BKC area of Mumbai along with divisions at Thane, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Sangli, Satara, Nagpur, Latur etc comprising 31 districts of Maharashtra.

In all these offices, only 265 posts of Food Security Officers and 161 posts of Drug Inspectors have been sanctioned by the government. But 78 posts of FSOs and 37 of Drug Inspectors posts still lie vacant, the RTI filed on January 15 this year, revealed.

In the Food Department, 22 Joint Commissioners' posts lay vacant as compared to the 62 posts sanctioned.

In the Drugs Department of the FDA, 13 out of 35 posts that of technical officers, 4 out of 8 senior Technical Officers, 22 out of 52 posts sanctioned for the Joint Commissioners, 9 out of the 12 posts that of the Administrative heads, 23 out of 60 posts that of Sample Assistants and 2 out of 3 Plant Operators remain vacant, it further said.