Govt to strengthen market inspection

KATHMANDU, April 11: The government is planning to bring major changes to Consumer Rights Protection Act (CRPA) and equip district inspection authorities with more resources in a bid to step up inspection of supplies and market. [break]



It is also preparing to appoint the chiefs of district agricultural offices as Food Supplies Commissioners, especially to fight food insecurity in the hill and remote districts of the country.



The proposed changes in the CRPA are related to the mechanism and structure of the market inspection authorities.



Ganesh Dhakal, joint secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) told myrepublica.com that the new mechanism envisaged will entrust the market inspection jobs to district administration offices (DAO) instead of various offices in different districts.



“The Ministry of Home has proposed that the job be shifted under a special committee to be headed by deputy chief district officer (CDO),” said Dhakal.



Given that the DAO is more authoritative body and the deputy CDO more powerful position, the government believes these activities could be more effectively carried out under the new structure.



The CRPA entrusts the task of inspecting consumable goods/services and investigating consumer-related cases to Inspection Officers (IOs). The government has entrusted this task to the chiefs of the Standards and Metrology Office in Kathmandu, Kailali, Kaski and Dhanusha districts.



In some districts, the job is entrusted upon the chiefs of the Cottage and Small Industries Offices, on the chief of the Commerce Office in some, and on the CDO in others. Given that all these officials already have their regular job responsibilities, market inspection and consumers´ rights protection jobs are ´side jobs´ for them.



Result: market inspections are rarely carried out in the districts outside the Kathmandu Valley. That has seriously jeopardized the implementation of the Act.



“Apart from restructuring the mechanism, we are also stepping up resources to the market inspection committee and making it accountable for ensuring smooth supply situation in the districts,” said Dhakal.



MoCS is presently calculating manpower and financial and technical resources for strengthening the inspection mechanism.



Likewise, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has also begun preparations for setting up a new mechanism for ensuring smooth food supply in all 75 districts. “We are forming a new body and appointing chiefs of District Agricultural Development Offices as Food Commissioners,” said a ministry official.

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