NEW DELHI: In a bid to stop the wastage of food, especially at weddings, the Delhi government is all set to limit the number of guests at these ceremonies to check misutilisation of water and food items.
Newly-appointed Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that various options were discussed in a meeting last week.A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur was informed by Dev that the officials have discussed the issues flagged by the court in its December 6 order in which it expressed concern over wastage of food and misutilisation of water in marriage functions.
“It is stated (by chief secretary) that some alternatives are being discussed, and there appears to be at least two options that are available. A two-pronged strategy is also being actively considered so that availability of food in functions and the number of guests is limited, and the quality of food is also maintained,” the bench noted in its order.
Dev said he had discussed the matter with the Lieutenant Governor and there seems to be a consensus between the views of the Delhi government and the LG in this regard. “We can have guest control on one hand and regulation under the Food Safety and Standards Act where institutional arrangements can be made between the caterers and NGOs, who are providing foods to the destitute,” he told the bench.
The Delhi chief secretary said there were reports that some excess food in marriage functions either is wasted or the stale food was used by caterers in subsequent wedding functions, which could led to health issues for the residents.
“Treatment of waste water is also a serious issue, which led to environmental degradation. Whatever directions the Supreme Court will give, we will follow. We will have to tackle these two issues,” the chief secretary added.
The bench told chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev that the officials have to first come out with a policy and the second major step would be its proper implementation.
The high court told the chief secretary to come out with a policy in this regard by within six weeks.