Q: What are your priorities as the new consumer affairs minister?

A: This is the first time that the consumer affairs minister has been given a Cabinet rank in West Bengal. This shows the importance chief minister Mamata Banerjee attaches to this department. Delimitation of forums is my top priority now.

Q: You mean you are trying to increase the number of consumer courts?

A: Yes. The number of consumer forums in Calcutta and in large districts will be increased to help people get justice. At present, every district has a forum but that is not enough. For example, people from the Sunderban villages have to come to Alipore in Calcutta to file a consumer case since the South 24-Parganas consumer forum is located there. I have started the delimitation process to reduce the jurisdiction of the existing forums and create new ones.

Q: Which districts will benefit most from the delimitation exercise?

A: In South 24-Parganas, we will have a new forum in Diamond Harbour. In North 24 -Parganas, we will have a new forum in Hasnabad besides the one in Barasat. In Burdwan, which is a big district, we may need two more forums in Asansol and Durgapur, besides the one in district headquarters. We will have one more forum in Murshidabad.

Q: Aren’t you doing anything for north Bengal?

A: We are setting up a bench of the state consumer commission in Jalpaiguri so people won’t have to come all the way to Calcutta.

Q: But consumer cases have been piling up in most of the forums in Bengal. Are you doing anything to clear the backlog?

A: I have already asked the forum presidents (who are retired district judges) to reduce the number of adjournments and deliver judgments within 90 days, as envisaged by the Consumer Protection Act.

Q: What about the fact that there are so many vacancies in the consumer forums?

A: We have appointed 12 or 13 members in different forums. I am also making sure that each consumer forum has a male and a female member.

Q: I hear that recent raids by your department on jewellery shops in Calcutta have not gone down well with the political party you belong to? Why did you raid these shops?

A: I have come under pressure from some quarters but I am trying to overcome them. We had information from the ISI that some jewellery shops in Calcutta were selling gold ornaments with fake hallmarks. So we conducted a joint raid on some shops during Dhanteras. Any jewellery shop found swindling consumers will not be spared. We have received complaints that some shops were selling 16-carat or 18-carat gold while charging for 22-carat or 24-carat gold. There is no way a consumer can tell the difference.

Q: How do you plan to counter the fact that most weighing machines in the markets are flawed?

A: We have placed orders for tamper-proof electronic weighing machines from Maharashtra. We will distribute them to the city bazaars. I met the Maharashtra consumer affairs minister and he showed me efficacy of these machines.

Q: What about the petrol pumps? Car owners often complain about getting short-changed there as well.

A: I have asked the Centre for flow machines to check that the petrol pumps are issuing the right amount of fuel to consumers. At present, we don’t have enough flow machines to go around.

Q: How effective are the raids conducted by your department without the police?

A: I badly need policemen to accompany my raiding teams. I have already written to the home secretary, asking for 10 policemen. We are ready to pay for them.

Q: But do you have the money for what you propose to do?

A: We are setting up a Rs 10-crore corporate fund to create consumer awareness and reactivate the NGOs working for consumers. The state government has already given us Rs 2.5 crore. We will get the remaining Rs 7.5 crore from the Centre soon. This will give us about Rs 1 crore a year in interest, which we intend to spend on campaigns etc.

Q: How effective are the mediations by your department in consumer disputes?

A: Our mediation helps consumers settle a dispute without having to go to consumer forums. In fact, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), with the help of the German government, has asked me to set up a mediation room in the city. They will pay for the infrastructure and a mediation officer.

Q: But mediation by your department has no legal sanctity. There is little you can do if one of the two sides in a dispute goes back on his words after agreeing to a settlement.

A: That’s true.

Q: In that case, would you press for an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act to make it binding?

A: We need an amendment but this is not something that I can raise with the Centre on my own. I have to take consumer ministers from other states on board.

Q: Medical negligence cases are on the rise. Are you thinking of setting up an expert committee to help the forums settle these cases?

A: I will have to see. It’s a complicated issue.

Q: What about mediclaim disputes?

A: I have already called the insurance companies to my office and asked them to see that consumers are not harassed. I have told them to make the entire process transparent.

Q: What are your other plans?

A: We are putting up a four-storied building at a cost of Rs 8 crore in Calcutta to house the consumer forums, legal meteorology and my department — all under one roof.

I have also sought a 10-cottah plot from each of the district magistrates to construct buildings for consumer forums. I am also trying to set up consumer clubs in 1,500 schools.