By IANS
Jaipur : The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) has decided to take strict action against hotels, restaurants and guesthouses operating without food licenses and not complying with basic hygiene guidelines.
JMC is expected to collect details about various such businesses in a fortnight, during which the owners can apply for proper licenses.
“Yes, we are working out the modalities and a drive will soon be launched to check the food licenses,” said Pankaj Joshi, deputy mayor of JMC.
According to preliminary information, over 55 percent of establishments selling food items don’t have a license under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.
Jaipur has over 600 hotels and 1,500 restaurants, guesthouses and bakeries. Besides, there are over 8,000 sweet and grocery shops in the city.
“Forget about licenses, some of these establishments do not even maintain basic cleanliness. So we decided to launch a drive and take strict action them,” a JMC official said.
“We have decided to first fine the establishments that don’t get a license by the month end. After that, they will be sealed,” he added.
Another important decision taken by the civic body is to generate electricity from the city’s solid and sewage waste to light up the city streets.
“The sewage and solid waste that have been creating problems for the civic bodies would now be used to generate electricity. A part of the power generated from the plant would be used for street lights,” the official said.
The project, which will be funded by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, would generate 8,000 units per day and the plant would have 60-80 percent efficiency level. It is expected to come up by 2009, he added.