Task force to rein in measure error

A task force has been formed by the state government to look into the malpractices by unscrupulous traders using faulty instruments.

Sources at the consumer affairs department said that after looking at the complaints by consumers,the government decided to procure four master metres for verification of CNG and LPG dispensers,upgrade their laboratories in Kolkata and Siliguri to check thermometers and sphygmomanometers.

These instruments are mostly manufactured in Ghaziabad and Noida and very often we hear of their readings varying to a great extent when tested on the same patient. This is a risky thing and needs to be checked as it has a direct implication on health, said Sajal Kumar Jana,deputy controller,department of legal metrology who is heading the task force.

There had also been complaints from consumers who not only want to know how they had been cheated,but also by how much. For that we will put up mobile laboratories that would visit the markets,get hold of offenders and put up a demo to the public as to how much they were being cheated, said Jana.

Underground tanks at petrol pumps would also need to be calibrated properly to ensure that the volume of oil is exact. For this purpose,representatives of IOCL,BPCL and HPCL have also been roped in, said an official of the consumer affairs department.

Jewellers,too,have resorted to this malpractice. As opposed to the prescribed Accuracy Class I or II weighing machines,in a recent joint raid by the department of legal metrology and the Bureau of Indian Standards,it was found that many jewellers of the city were using Class III and IV weighing machines which had very less sensitivity, said Jana.

In a statewide raid,the department of legal metrology visited 3,69,971 traders in 2010-11 and 4,05,948 traders in 2011-12. The government realisation of fines from offending traders amounted to Rs 11,64,72,924 in 2010-11,whereas the figure stood at Rs 13,41,00,976 in 2011-12.

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Sources at the department of legal metrology said different district offices were to be computerised so that through geographical information system,the information could be quickly transmitted to the head office. In the current fiscal,40 new units would be added to the existing 115 branches for better efficiency and a secondary standard laboratory in the lines of Kolkata and Siliguri,would be put up in Chinsura in Burdwan sub division to cover the areas in the vicinity.

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