The Pernmabut Consumer Welfare Protection Society (PCWPS) urged the Department of Consumer Protection attached to the State government to cancel licences of LPG agencies that distributed refills without ensuring legal metrology under Weights and Measurements Act.
In a memorandum submitted to the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, president of PCWPS T Basheeruddin said that while the Supreme Court had ruled that consumers must approve that LPG refills supplied to them had correct weight and measurement, it was seldom followed by the agencies. Consumers were also not insisting on this aspect.
He said that the Society has been receiving complaints about refills with less weight. Legal metrology officials should conduct frequent inspections in LPG agencies and ensure that correct refills were distributed to consumers. Licences of agencies that continued to violate legal metrology must be cancelled, he added.
Similarly, PCWPS recieved many complaints about adulterated sale and reduced volume of petroleum products by petrol bunks in the district. Officials should inspect the bunks regularly to ensure that pumps were not tampered with and licences of agencies indulging in illegal activities must be cancelled, he added.
Expressing concern over pavement vendors who did no have proper weightage and measurement, Basheeruddin said that Cases must be booked against such vendors.
He said that despite ration shops using electronic weighing machines, consumers recieved items of less weight and quantity. Similarly most commercial shops were not adhering to the Packaged Commodities Act, he said.