Faridabad eateries fined over Rs 15 lakh after hygiene inspections

A municipal health team has imposed penalties totalling more than Rs 15 lakh on five eateries in NIT Faridabad after surprise inspections found alleged food-hygiene violations.

At Babbal, inspectors said they found live insects in vegetables and bread covered with fungus in a container. The outlet was fined Rs 6.5 lakh. Om Sweets was fined Rs 6 lakh after the team allegedly found reused cooking oil; officials said workers tried to discard a large quantity of kachoris as inspectors arrived.

Haldiram was fined Rs 2 lakh for an alleged cooking-oil reuse violation. RPS and Gulati were also inspected and fined Rs 50,000 and Rs 45,000 respectively.

The Faridabad action follows a Gurgaon diner's allegation of finding a live worm in a sandwich. Officials said food-safety enforcement in Haryana is constrained by staffing: of 45 sanctioned Food Safety Officer posts, only five officers are currently handling field duties, while other personnel await posting or certification.