Despite skeletal staff and working at odd hours promptly attends to calls
They do a thankless job. And despite having a skeletal staffand working at odd hours, the Goa Legal Metrology department, South Goa ensuresthat the general public gets the best and is the king.
The Goa Legal Metrology department headed by Assistant Controller,Prasad Shirodkar and Inspector, Arun Panchwadkar work with a staff of only six.They have no work timings since they have to carry out raids anytime, as earlyas 3 in the morning or 10 late in the evening.
The department is often praised for its efforts in seizingover-priced goods, goods with incorrect packaging details and above all keepinga check on the weights and measures in the fish markets.
“We are not a revenue earning department but we keep a tabon the rate, quantity and weight of goods that are sold to consumers,”Shirodkar said.
The department officials inspects industrial units,manufacturing and packaging companies, check net contents of packets, verifyweights and measures used by establishments, verify and test petrol dispensers,distilleries, net content on food packets and enforce Maximum Retail Price.
Setup in 1984, this Zone-I office situated opposite theMadgaon Railway station is one of the only eleven Legal Metrology office acrossthe State regularly carrying out raids and checking defaulters and earns arevenue of up to Rs one crore per year through fines and penalties.
“The problem is unlike bigger economies the Indian market isa feeder dominated market that does not respect the consumer. Here a consumerhas to be satisfied with what the trader provides, which is a farce in freetrade,” Shirodkar said.
Panchwadkar pointed out that tonnes of engine oil from IOC,HP and BP is seized by his department since the packaging date is shown but themanufacturing date is not displayed.
Praised by locals for attending to verbal complaints madeover the telephone, the department is often let down by calls made by rivals inthe business world.
“Our biggest problem is lack of staff. We are just six of usincluding two lab assistants and one inspector besides a clerk and a driver whohelp us inspect goods. We have continuously asked the government for staff butour requests have fallen on deaf ears,” Shirodkar said.
Shirodkar pointed out that his department officials areoften assaulted, bad-mouthed and roughed up when they conduct raids to verifyweighing scales in the New Market, fish market and Gandhi Market besides raidson taxi and rickshaw meters, on rare occasions with the support from the TownPolice.
