Utter neglect of consumer rights

But it is dumbfounding to note that such a law has been under preparation for the last 13 years! At least five drafts have been made in all that time and the commerce and law ministries have apparently failed to reach any conclusion in the last one year.

That's indeed a glaring example of indifference having been shown to the rights of consumers, strangely at the government level.

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Now, the question is: how do we tackle, on a durable basis, the grave threat to public health that adulteration and sale of substandard food items pose? The draft law on the table envisages some measures like setting up of a consumers' council and a bureau of consumers' affairs to safeguard their rights. The law, when enacted, will deal with infringements on the rights of consumers like charging exorbitant prices, providing substandard service, selling low quality commodities, shortchanging on weights and measures, creating an artificial crisis, etc.

Though belatedly, the government is rightly thinking in terms of amending the 46-year-old law on food production and sale. Alongside introducing harsher punishments, provisions should be there for aggrieved citizens to initiate legal proceedings against dishonest elements which are conspicuously absent today.

The businessmen should want to be involved in the overall fight against the illegal practices. We believe that the campaign against spurious and adulterated goods will help the bona fide businessmen in a very perceptible way. They won't have to bother much about fake products being sold under their brand names. It's a question of protecting their credibility.

We look forward to a comprehensive consumer rights protection law being enacted in the next session of parliament along with amendments made to the archaic law on food production and sale.