Nagaland State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission files 12 consumer cases

May 6, 2023 152 Views No Comment

Our Correspondent
Kohima | May 6

The Nagaland State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has filed 12 consumer cases and 7 cases were disposed and 5 cases still pending.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (District Forum) has 11 new consumer cases filed, 14 consumer cases disposed and 55 backlog cases still pending. The Nagaland State Consumer Helpline Office has received 42 calls during 2022-2023.

This was stated in the Annual Administrative Report 2022-23 of the Department of Legal Metrology & Consumer Protection presented in the first session of 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in March 2023.

A total of 7345 number of weight and measures and weighing & measuring instruments was verified during 2022-23, the report stated.

During 2022-23, the Department has started constructing the office of the Nagaland State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Kohima which is being funded by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs under CSS scheme.

The department have also initiated the construction of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum offices at Peren, Longleng, Kiphire at a cost of Rs. 60.00 lakhs per district, for which an amount of Rs. 180.00 lakhs was received from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs (GOI) for the said project.

The District Forum office for Peren, Longleng & Kiphire have been completed.

The department plans to conduct more stringent enforcement activities such as the verification, inspection and seizure of non-standard weights, weighing and measuring instruments and packed commodities at trade establishments as per the Legal Metrology Act and Rules for better protection of Consumer Rights in the state.

The report stated that the department plans to organize consumer awareness programs and provide financial support to consumer clubs in various schools in the state and voluntary consumer organizations for better consumer awareness among the citizens of the state.

About Legal Metrology & Consumer Protection department

The Department of Legal Metrology & Consumer Protection plays dual role of a technical as well as a law enforcing department.

It enforces the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act 2009, the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011, the Legal Metrology (General) Rules 2011, the Nagaland Legal Metrology (Enforcement) Rules 2011, the National Standards Rules 2011, and acts as the nodal department for the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 for better protection of consumers rights in the state, the report stated.

The department performs the annual verification and stamping of weights, measures, and all weighing and measuring instruments used by traders, hawkers, LPG agencies, petrol pumps, other government departments, and industrial establishments in the state.

As such, defaulters are booked and prosecuted for offences under the Legal Metrology Act & Rules.

It also performs the calibration of vehicle tanks which transport petroleum products to different parts of the state, and the calibration of storage tanks of oil corporations in the state.

The report stated that the department provides better protection of consumer rights in the state through the various consumer courts – the Nagaland State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (State Commission) at the State Capital Kohima and the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (District Commission) in each district of the state.

Consumers seek redressal of their consumer grievances by lodging complaints in these consumer courts.

In order to create mass awareness about consumer rights, the department organizes consumer awareness campaigns and seminars and also provides financial assistance to set up consumer clubs in schools and higher secondary schools to sensitize students to be alert during the purchase of goods and services. It also grants aid to Voluntary Consumer Organizations (VCOs) and Consumer Societies in the state for strengthening the consumer movement, the report added.