Department orders inspection of firms holding acid licence

PATIALA: As a fallout of the acid in borewell racket that got busted in Punjab on Tuesday, the state food and drugs administration (FDA) on Thursday ordered inspection of premises and scrutiny of records of all firms holding licences to produce acids and chemicals.

In a late evening order issued by FDA commissioner K S Pannu asked all zonal licensing authorities and the drugs control officers of Punjab to inspect premises and check records of all firms that deal with harmful chemicals. The action comes after a farmer from Rajoana village blew the lid off the racket in which unsuspecting farmers were being duped by the employees of the Patiala-based MR Chemicals by promising to increase water drawls from their borewells. The company was pouring a cocktail of hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulphuric acid into the borewell causing massive environmental damage.

Pannu said preliminary investigations carried out by the FDA have revealed that MR Chemicals was not maintaining any sales records or stock register as required under Rule 14 and 15 of Punjab Poisons Possession and Sale Rules, 2014. While Rule 15 makes it mandatory for every licencee to maintain sales records of various chemicals, these records are also to be sent to the SDM concerned on a quarterly basis. Not maintaining the records provided enough room to the owner of the said unit to sell volumes of acids to the farmers in the state. The information gathered so far indicates that owner of the unit poured 600 litre of acids into over 17,500 borewells across Punjab in the last 13 years.

Issuing the directives, FDA commissioner has asked the district officials to make certain that all licence holders maintain proper records and do not sell acids or chemicals to anyone without obtaining a photo identity card bearing address of the purchaser. The officials have also been asked to check the stocks maintained by the licencees.

Meanwhile, the district police is yet to register a case against the owner of the unit, who reportedly holds a valid licence, but failed to maintain any records. District drug inspector Navjot Kaur said they had already written to the police for initiating action against the owner of the unit under the relevant law.