Jaipur: Rajasthan health and medical education minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar Monday directed officials to begin the process for posting and paying 225 newly recruited Food Safety Officers after they protested over eight months of unpaid salaries and delayed field deployment.The officers, appointed to the Commissionerate of Food Safety and Drug Control to support the state’s “Shuddh Aahar–Milawat Par Vaar” anti-adulteration campaign, said they joined in Dec 2025 and completed departmental training in Jan 2026. They said they have not received even one month’s salary since recruitment.The FSOs submitted a memorandum at Khimsar’s Civil Lines residence and later staged a dharna in the corridors of the health directorate, demanding immediate release of pending salaries and posting orders. They said a notification on postings was issued in July, nearly five months after their training, but field assignments were still pending.The officers said they were ready to serve but could not begin work because of the delay. They also pointed to the start of the festive season, when food adulteration checks are usually intensified and more officers are needed in the field.Taking note of the salary issue, Khimsar instructed officials to complete the required process on priority and ensure there was no unnecessary delay in payments to officers who had already joined. He also said the newly selected FSOs would be posted shortly.Khimsar said FSOs are central to strengthening the state’s food safety drive, which focuses on ensuring food quality, preventing adulteration and making safe food available to the public. He said adequate field staff was essential for effective enforcement and that the state government was working to strengthen the food safety system.
