New Delhi: Ostentatious behaviour and
humongous food wastage at marriage and social gatherings may
come under the watchful eye of the government, which is
mulling dealing with the problem through legislative and
administrative measures.
For starters, the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs
today formed a 15-member committee of officials and experts to
suggest ways to check food wastages, estimated at 15-20 per
cent at weddings and social gatherings.
"The panel would also explore various options for
introducing legislative and administrative measures in due
course," an official statement said.
Besides, the committee will examine how the Government
and the public sector units can set an example by practising
austerity, it said.
"Concern has been voiced time to time on the wastage of
food items and ostentatious behavior witnessed especially
during occasions like marriages, parties and meetings. It has
been estimated that about 15 to 20 per cent of food is just
wasted in our country at social gatherings," the statement
said.
The panel, headed by Consumer Affairs Secretary Rajiv
Aggarwal, will also suggest awareness programmes and campaigns
on curbing food wastage.
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas had termed
food wastage at social gatherings as "criminal", suggesting
legislative measures in this regard.
The government could also look into the Guest Control
Order of the 1960s, which limits number of guests at marriages
and other events, Thomas had said.
Senior bureaucrats from various states and consumer
activists, among others, are the members of the panel.
"So much food is wasted ...even in official functions,"
Suresh Mishra, Professor in the Centre for Consumer Studies,
Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, June 02, 2011, 19:06