The government is planning to overhaul legal provisions involving consumer rights and put in place a stricter price-monitoring mechanism for all sectors. “We will implement consumer rights and laws pertaining to consumers will be revised. Hoarding, carteling, cheating and frauds will be monitored,” said Puroshottam Ojha, Secretary of the Ministry of Supply and Commerce.
Consumers have been on the receiving end due to lack of guidelines and awareness.Consumers have been cheated time and again. This time around, the government is looking to implement a proper monitoring system to bring consumer justice, he said.
He also said that the first step that will be taken to ensure that consumer rights are not violated is by making consumers aware of their rights and what measures they can take if their rights are infringed upon.
“The consumer needs to be aware of his rights to avoid being cheated and deceived by vendors and the government is taking the responsibility of enabling various acts and regulations to ensure that this step is taken forward,” said Ojha.
He also assured that if any vendor is found guilty of hoarding or of fraud, he will be legally prosecuted. Consumer rights issue has been going on for a very long time and there has been no steps taken by the government till now. The process will take place when the implementation of a correct and revised legal framework and monitoring system come into play.
Similarly, Jeevan Prabha Rana Director General of Quality Control Department said that the current legal regime involving consumer rights need to be revised.