SRINAGAR: The Legal Metrology Department has booked 71 challans and served 60 improvement notices across Jammu and Kashmir in October so far, while imposing penalties totalling Rs 3.50 lakh in cases involving violations of consumer protection rules during the ongoing festival season.
The enforcement drive, being conducted under the supervision of Controller Legal Metrology J&K Shiv Kumar Gupta, is aimed at curbing unfair trade practices and ensuring that consumers receive the correct quantity of goods at legally permissible prices.
According to the department, inspection teams have been checking markets and commercial establishments across districts for violations, including short delivery of goods and fuel, underweight commodities, the use of unverified weights and measures, and failure to comply with mandatory declarations on packaged products.
The department said legal action had also been initiated in cases where traders failed to comply with improvement notices within the prescribed period. Under the Jan Vishwas framework, such notices provide an opportunity to rectify identified violations within the stipulated time, wherever applicable. Non-compliance can lead to further legal proceedings and penalties.
Alongside inspections, the department has been organising consumer awareness camps and programmes for traders to explain the applicable Legal Metrology laws, statutory requirements and procedures under the revised enforcement framework. The initiatives are intended to promote voluntary compliance and improve transparency in commercial transactions.
Consumers have been advised to check the maximum retail price (MRP), net quantity and other mandatory declarations on packaged commodities, verify promotional offers and discounts, insist on proper bills and ensure that the quantity supplied matches the quantity paid for.
The department has urged consumers to report suspected violations to their nearest Legal Metrology office for appropriate action.
