Lawmakers to monitor market irregularities
KATHMANDU:
Finance and Labour Relation Committee of Legislative Parliament is planning to monitor market to control artificial price hike.
The committee has formed a sub-committee to monitor market price, supply of essential goods and protect consumer rights, said coordinator of the 15-member sub-committee Shanti Basnet Adhikari in an interaction in the valley today.
“We are developing market monitoring procedures,” she said, adding that consultations with stakeholders are going on to develop practical monitoring measures that will not affect works of other government bodies in the field. The monitoring will build baseline for other monitoring bodies and encourage them to start result-oriented market monitoring drive, according to her.
Currently, Department of Commerce has been monitoring the market of Kathmandu Valley — Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts — since last couple of years but its works has not been satisfactory.
“Market monitoring of the department has not made significant changes that people can feel,” general secretary of Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights Nepal Jyoti Baniya, said, adding that the market is totally in the grip of black marketers.
He welcomes parliamentary committee’s interest and suggested that it could influence the government in consumer issues.
Establishing different government agencies and providing them with simple legal teeth is not enough. “Consumer court is a must,” he said.
Department of Commerce has included consumer court in the revision of Consumer Protection Act 1998 and the draft is under consideration in the Ministry of Law and Justice since last four months. Consumer law has given semi-judicial rights to Chief District Officers (CDOs) in consumer cases but their involvement in nominal, he added.
They are overloaded with maintaining law and order situation in the country that is in transition.
“CDOs are certainly overloaded but they cannot escape from their duty in protecting consumer rights,” said secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Lila Mani Paudel. “I have ordered them to give sufficient time for consumer protections as well,” he said.
Chief District Officers, as top government officer in district, have to enforce over 70 different laws at the same time. Home ministry is planning to start comprehensive market monitoring soon in the Kathmandu Valley because 60 per cent of goods and services of the country is consumed in three districts of the Valley.
“If we can develop a model here, it could be easily adopted in other districts too,” he said.
DEpartment of Commerce has monitored 550 businesses in the fiscal year 2010-11 and punished 18 shopkeepers for violating price-list, selling sub-standard goods and cheating in weight. “We are forwarding some nine cases to the court,” said director of the department Khila Nath Bastakoti. The department is scrutinising cases against cooking gas bottlers Trishul, Himal, Sugam and Tara.
Source: THT
Finance and Labour Relation Committee of Legislative Parliament is planning to monitor market to control artificial price hike.
The committee has formed a sub-committee to monitor market price, supply of essential goods and protect consumer rights, said coordinator of the 15-member sub-committee Shanti Basnet Adhikari in an interaction in the valley today.
“We are developing market monitoring procedures,” she said, adding that consultations with stakeholders are going on to develop practical monitoring measures that will not affect works of other government bodies in the field. The monitoring will build baseline for other monitoring bodies and encourage them to start result-oriented market monitoring drive, according to her.
Currently, Department of Commerce has been monitoring the market of Kathmandu Valley — Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts — since last couple of years but its works has not been satisfactory.
“Market monitoring of the department has not made significant changes that people can feel,” general secretary of Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights Nepal Jyoti Baniya, said, adding that the market is totally in the grip of black marketers.
He welcomes parliamentary committee’s interest and suggested that it could influence the government in consumer issues.
Establishing different government agencies and providing them with simple legal teeth is not enough. “Consumer court is a must,” he said.
Department of Commerce has included consumer court in the revision of Consumer Protection Act 1998 and the draft is under consideration in the Ministry of Law and Justice since last four months. Consumer law has given semi-judicial rights to Chief District Officers (CDOs) in consumer cases but their involvement in nominal, he added.
They are overloaded with maintaining law and order situation in the country that is in transition.
“CDOs are certainly overloaded but they cannot escape from their duty in protecting consumer rights,” said secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Lila Mani Paudel. “I have ordered them to give sufficient time for consumer protections as well,” he said.
Chief District Officers, as top government officer in district, have to enforce over 70 different laws at the same time. Home ministry is planning to start comprehensive market monitoring soon in the Kathmandu Valley because 60 per cent of goods and services of the country is consumed in three districts of the Valley.
“If we can develop a model here, it could be easily adopted in other districts too,” he said.
DEpartment of Commerce has monitored 550 businesses in the fiscal year 2010-11 and punished 18 shopkeepers for violating price-list, selling sub-standard goods and cheating in weight. “We are forwarding some nine cases to the court,” said director of the department Khila Nath Bastakoti. The department is scrutinising cases against cooking gas bottlers Trishul, Himal, Sugam and Tara.
Source: THT
