BANGALORE: It has been a nice evening. You and your family have just had great fun watching that mindless fare from Bollywood. You have paid through your nose for the tickets, but who cares? It has been a nice occasion after a long while. But something is niggling you. You know you have coughed up more than the marked price for all what you ate and drank at the mall. But you do not want it to curdle your mood and prefer to keep quiet.

But wait. There is a platform for redressal. There is something called the Department of Legal Metrology, formerly the Department of Weights and Measures, that is supposed to hear you and act as well. The public is largely unaware of this department which raises questions about its effectiveness.

The Department is bounden to maintain accuracy of weights, measures and weighing machines in trades and industries; verify autorickshaw meters; ensure that packaged commodities are sold at the printed price on the packet: that is the maximum retail price (MRP).

According to C.M. Mallikarjun, Deputy Controller (Administration), Legal Metrology, the Department compares the weights and measures used in trade and industry with that of standards maintained by it. If inaccuracies are found, corrective measures are taken and certificate of accuracy issued later.

To maintain accuracy in scales, the Department conducts periodic verification. In one instance, the officials during a routine inspection found that a five-star hotel was charging Rs. 250 for a bottle of mineral water as against the MRP of Rs. 14. Similar violations of MRP were also found in many bars and restaurants. But as a case was pending before the Supreme Court, the Department officials were not initiating action against such violations, Mr. Mallikarjun told The Hindu .

Recently, the officials filed 158 cases of MRP violations, wrong measurements and others during a two-day inspection at malls.

Common violations include tampering or broken seals in autorickshaw meters, failure to adhere to periodical verification, overcharging or under-weighing by traders and industries. During a recent raid on Madivala market, the officials caught vendors using faulty measurement. "But such cases are on the slump," Department sources claimed.

All traders must permit inspection of the seal put by the department. "Check the seal if you have any doubts," the sources suggest.

What you can do

Aggrieved consumers can lodge complaints with the Department. In fact, they do not even need to produce a receipt of purchase. Mr. Mallikarjun said: "We do not disclose the name of the complainant. Complaints are disposed of within 10 days and the complainant is informed of the result." Complaints can be lodged by calling 22207750/ 22284917 or mail clm@kslmd.com

You can complain about LPG cylinders too, especially if you feel that they are not lasting as long as they should. In fact, you have a right to demand that the cylinder's weight is measured at your end. The cylinder's content must weigh 14.2 kg.

Penalty

From April 1, 2006 to December 2006, the Department verified weights, measures and weighing machines in over 3.12 lakh trades and business and collected a verification fee of Rs. 12.59 crore.

It detected 28,150 cases of violation of which 27,415 were closed after imposing compounding fine while 182 cases were heard in courts. Nearly Rs. 2.4 crore has been collected as fine for various violations.

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