No Public Information Officer in Agriculture Department

[sidmis]

No Public Information Officer in Agriculture Department
as reported by Anupam Chakravartty | Oct 09, 2008 | Indian Express

Vadodara, October 8 Issue comes to light after city-based activist
files an RTI application to the department

An application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by a
city-based activist revealed that there is no Public Information
Officer (PIO) in the the Agriculture department of the Gujarat
government.

The activist, Rohit Prajapati, had sought the usage information of
fertilisers after conducting an independent study on various food
products and amount of pesticides in form of DDT and Urea in August
this year. In its reply, the department, however, said that the
information couldn't be given as there is no PIO in the department.

Prajapati said the department did not have a PIO or any concerned
officer to give the information. "We are yet to get the information.
The department has assured that they are gathering the data," he said.
In the application, Prajapati had stated the amount of DDT and
fertilisers found in various food products in the city. "The study was
conducted after collecting various food samples from areas across the
state," he added.

While corncobs in the state have the highest quantity of pesticides in
form of DDT in food items with 7.24 ppm, wheat has the highest
quantity of urea with 18.07 ppm.

"As per the reply given by the Agriculture department, there has been
no survey done in this regard by the government," said Prajapati.

"It is not just the part per million (ppm) amount of DDT and
fertilisers in food products being produced by the farmers, but the
issue is about the deteriorating health of farmers being exposed to
chemicals," he added.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/No-Public-Information-Officer-in-Agriculture-Department/371192