By making an announcement of appointing an international team to monitor fish supplies in Goa, the government has virtually given a vote of no-confidence to its Food and Drugs Administration team. The government has decided to rope in an international agency to check for quality of fish sold in the markets, and finally it has accepted the fact that the FDA doesn’t have the wherewithal to ensure clean fish is supplied to Goans. Let’s not forget that despite the persistent outcry over FDA inadequacies, the health minister had been stoutly defending the team of doing a fantastic job.
The lack of confidence in FDA stands exposed as the government set about scouting an agency from countries like Japan, Singapore or Dubai to monitor fish. On the flip side, this comes as a huge confidence-building measure, especially when the people of Goa had written off the FDA. By all means this experiment should be tried, but before that we need to set things straight, lest it dents public trust further. How long will this international agency continue to test our fish? Forever?
Will the international agency be free from any pulls and pressures from the all-mighty and politically-leaning fish industry? Sincere and upright FDA officers like Iva Fernandes have fallen prey to pressures, forcing her to approach even the Human Rights Commission for protection. Transparent functioning of any global agency will remain a million dollar question. Copy-pasting a successful international template without considering the ground realities of Goa can have disastrous consequences.
The crackdown on traders importing fish and mandatory registration with FDA are welcome gestures, but how seriously this is going to be enforced remains to be seen. A circular directing fish traders to register with the FDA was out on August 2, and even considering the extra time given to comply, there were hardly any takers. Fish traders went about doing their business as usual. Can anyone explain how many unregistered trucks were turned back? Do our ministers require a nod from an ailing Chief Minister from Delhi to take stringent action? Establishing FDA units at the SGPDA wholesale and retail fish markets is long overdue and this has been a consistent demand by even those within the government.
Surprisingly, after the retail fish market in Margao has gone the Dubai way in terms of design and appearance, our fish testing is also headed to go international. But why is the government so tempted with global standards? Is there nothing that Indians, or for that matter Goans, can do to check the quality of fish, more so at a time when is Prime Minister Narendra Modi is globe-trotting selling his Make in India dream?
Footnote: Politically speaking it appears that warring ministers Vijai Sardesai and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane have buried the hatchet just in time as the countdown begins for big changes in the government.
