Some 746 local governments have yet not brought Consumers Protection Act, though the Constitution has given them the right to bring the law to protect consumer, according to the chair of the Consumer Welfare Protection Forum Jyoti Baniya, speaking at a programme today.
Highlighting the need to enforce Local Market Management Act as provisioned in the Constitution, he said that the Constitution has also recognised consumers’ welfare under the fundamental right providing sufficient grounds to enforce effective measures to protect their rights. ”The local governments’ apathy to introduce necessary laws has left consumers helpless across the country.”
Although it has been almost five years since the new constitution was endorsed – in 2015 – and the local governments had their elected representatives a year later, only 7 local governments – out of a total 753 – including Damak, Kalaiya, Bhimeshwor, Waling, Tansen, Birendranagar and Tikapur municipalities have so far brought the Act. The law paves way for forming a powerful committee under leadership of the deputy mayor, Baniya added.
The law delegates full authority to the committee to oversee almost all market related activities that include cross inspection, provision of selling points and budget management to conduct research and raise awareness among general people. Each of these 7 municipalities are reported to have allocated up to Rs 5 million to carry out these activities.
The delay in formulating necessary laws by the local governments has created severe problem in effective market inspection and monitoring,” he said, adding that the market inspection being conducted by mayor, deputy mayor or high ranking government officials, in the absence of necessary law have failed to provide any relief to the consumers. “The market, however, has become largely unsafe for consumers as they are being cheated.”
The concern for consumers’ right protection started in Nepal some two-and-a-half decades ago.
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