MARGAO
Over six years after former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated a state-of-the-art food testing laboratory at the SGPDA mega fish market in Margao, the facility remains non-functional, raising serious concerns over the government’s commitment to food safety in Goa.
Inaugurated on January 27, 2019, in the wake of the formalin-in-fish controversy, the lab was hailed as a much-needed step toward ensuring the quality of food”especially fish, fruits, and vegetables”consumed by Goans. Prabhu had assured that the facility, under the Export Inspection Council, would be operational within three months. However, the lab exists only on paper, prompting critics to call it a “ghost project.”
Government delays, reportedly due to the lack of suitable land, have frustrated residents and stakeholders. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told the Assembly that the absence of a 500-square-metre plot in Margao is holding up the project. This explanation, however, has not convinced many.
A former member of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) questioned the government’s priorities, pointing out that the lab could have been accommodated in a vacant 100-square-metre shed at the SGPDA market. “It’s shameful that the government cannot spare land for a public health facility while planning commercial exploitation of other properties,” he said.
With concerns about artificial fruit ripening and contaminated fish still fresh, the absence of a food testing lab continues to be a glaring gap in Goa’s food safety infrastructure.
