Lok Sabha Question No. 4488 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Issues Related to Consumer Affairs in Amritsar and Border Belt Regions
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Gurjeet Singh Aujla

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4488 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

## ISSUES RELATED TO CONSUMER AFFAIRS IN AMRITSAR AND BORDER BELT REGIONS

## 4488.  SHRI GURJEET SINGH AUJLA:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted an assessment of consumer rights violations, unfair trade practices or price exploitation in border regions like Amritsar and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the people of the country are facing lots of health problems due to the rampant adulteration of essential food items, especially in dairy, grains and packaged goods and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (c) the prices of essential commodities often fluctuate sharply in border regions especially in Amritsar and nearby areas due to supply chain challenges;
- (d) whether  the  Government  commit  to  a  special  consumer  affairs  strategy  for  the  border  region especially in Amritsar and the entire border belt to ensure that citizens are not exploited by unfair trade practices, adulteration or illegal market activities; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE

## CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA)

(a) to (e) : Department  of  Consumer  Affairs  is  continuously  working  for  consumer  protection  and empowerment  of  consumers  by  enactment  of  progressive  legislations.  With  a  view  to  modernize  the framework governing the consumer protection in the new era of globalization, technologies, e-commerce markets etc., the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was repealed and Consumer Protection Act, 2019 was enacted.

Salient features of the new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 are establishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority(CCPA); simplification of the adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions such as  enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions, online filing of complaint from the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer irrespective of  the  place  of  transaction,  videoconferencing  for  hearing,  deemed  admissibility  of  complaints  if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing; provision of product liability; penal provisions for manufacture/sale of adulterated products/spurious goods; provision for making rules for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce and direct selling.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for a three tier quasi-judicial machinery at District, State and National level commonly known as 'Consumer Commissions' for protection of the rights of consumers and to provide simple and speedy redressal of consumer disputes including those related with unfair trade practices. The Consumer Commissions are empowered to give relief of a specific nature and award compensation to consumers, wherever appropriate.

Further,  as  per  Section  38  (7)  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  every  complaint  shall  be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of commodities and within five months, if it requires analysis or testing of commodities.

To serve the interest of speedy justice to the end consumers, Consumer Protection Act states that no adjournment shall ordinarily be granted by the consumer commissions unless sufficient cause is shown and the reasons for grant of adjournment have been recorded in writing by the Commission.

Section 90 and 91 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provide for punishment for manufacturing for sale or for storing or selling or for distributing or importing any product containing an adulterant or spurious goods, which includes imprisonment or fine depending on the extent of injury to the consumer.

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  the  Central  Consumer  Protection Authority (CCPA), an executive agency, came into existence on 24.07.2020. It is designed to intervene, to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices and to initiate class action(s), including the enforcement of recalls, refunds and return of products. Its core mandate is to prevent and regulate false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the public interest.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at a prelitigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages including Hindi,  English,  Kashmiri,  Punjabi,  Nepali,  Gujarati,  Marathi,  Kannada,  Telugu,  Tamil,  Malayalam, Maithili,  Santhali,  Bengali,  Odia,  Assamese  and  Manipuri  through  a  toll-free  number  1915.  These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omni-channel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- WhatsApp (8800001915), SMS (8800001915), email (nch-ca@gov.in), the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) and the Umang app, as per their convenience.  1110 companies, who have voluntarily partnered with NCH, as part of the 'Convergence' programme directly respond to these grievances according to their redressal process and revert by providing a feedback to the complainant on the portal.

Also, Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the daily prices of 38 essential food commodities submitted by the 566 price monitoring centres including 15 districts from Punjab across the country. The prices of food commodities tend to be volatile as they are affected by several factors, such as seasonality in production, adverse weather conditions, supply chain disruptions, rise in international prices etc. Sometimes slight disruptions in the supply chain or crop damage due to adverse weather condition etc. lead to spike in the prices of agri-horticultural commodities. The Daily Retail Prices of 38 Commodities in Punjab especially in Amritsar and nearby areas are at Annexure .

To ensure the availability of safe food products to the consumers across the country, FSSAI conducts regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of various food products throughout the year by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/ UTs and Regional offices of FSSAI to check compliance with the quality and safety parameters and other requirements as laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations made thereunder.

Further, FSSAI has Risk Based Inspection System (RBIS) where frequency of inspection is decided based on risk associated with Food businesses and thus, mandates annual inspection. Moreover, it also specifies mandatory sampling while inspecting the premises.

In  cases  of  non-compliance  to  the  statutory  requirements,  penal  action  is  initiated  against  the defaulting Food Business Operators (FBOs) as per the provisions for Offences & Penalties laid under FSS Act, 2006.  The details of enforcement activities of food samples analyzed, found non-conforming and penalties etc in the past 3 years are as follows :-

| Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   | Details of Enforcement activities undertaken in last 3 Years   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                           | No. of Samples Analyze d                                       | No. of Samples found non- conform ing                          | Non-Conforming Samples                                         | Non-Conforming Samples                                         | Non-Conforming Samples                                         | Civil Cases                                                    | Civil Cases                                                    | Criminal Cases                                                 | Criminal Cases                                                 |
| Year                                                           | No. of Samples Analyze d                                       | No. of Samples found non- conform ing                          | Unsafe                                                         | Sub Standar d                                                  | Labelli ng defects/ Mislea ding/ Miscell aneous                | Decided with Penalty                                           | Penal ties Realiz ed (Cr Rs.)                                  | No. of Convi ctions                                            | Penalt ies Realiz ed (Cr Rs.)                                  |
| 2022-23                                                        | 177511                                                         | 44626                                                          | 6579                                                           | 21917                                                          | 16130                                                          | 28464                                                          | 33.23                                                          | 1188                                                           | 2.75                                                           |
| 2023-24                                                        | 170513                                                         | 33808                                                          | 6782                                                           | 22603                                                          | 4423                                                           | 29586                                                          | 74.12                                                          | 1161                                                           | 2.67                                                           |
| 2024-25                                                        | 170535                                                         | 34388                                                          | 7945                                                           | 22516                                                          | 3931                                                           | 30142                                                          | 35.74                                                          | 1265                                                           | 3.03                                                           |

****

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4488 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 REGARDING ISSUES RELATED TO CONSUMER AFFAIRS IN AMRITSAR AND BORDER BELT REGIONS.

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| Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   | Daily Retail Prices of 38 Food Items in Punjab as on 13 Aug 2025   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Commoditie s                                                       | Qty                                                                | Amritsa r                                                          | Ludhian a                                                          | Bathind a                                                          | Barnal a                                                           | Hoshiarpu r                                                        | Faridko t                                                          | Mans a                                                             | Sri Muktsa r Sahib                                                 | Dera Bass i                                                        | Sangru r                                                           | Ropa r                                                             | Amargar h                                                          | Fatehgar h Sahib                                                   | Ferozepu r                                                         | Kapurthal a                                                        |
| Rice                                                               | 1 Kg                                                               | 40                                                                 | 37                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 36                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 43                                                                 |
| Wheat                                                              | 1 Kg                                                               | 28                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 26                                                                 | 29                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 26                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 35                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 30                                                                 |
| Atta (Wheat)                                                       | 1 Kg                                                               | 32                                                                 | 35                                                                 | 32                                                                 | 31                                                                 | 35                                                                 | 32                                                                 | 33                                                                 | 32                                                                 | 31                                                                 | 31                                                                 | 33                                                                 | 32                                                                 | 40                                                                 | 32                                                                 | 35                                                                 |
| Gram Dal                                                           | 1 Kg                                                               | 90                                                                 | 89                                                                 | 88                                                                 | 92                                                                 | 85                                                                 | 88                                                                 | 90                                                                 | 85                                                                 | 88                                                                 | 83                                                                 | 88                                                                 | 85                                                                 | 87                                                                 | 88                                                                 | 88                                                                 |
| Tur/Arhar Dal                                                      | 1 Kg                                                               | 123                                                                | 133                                                                | 120                                                                | 113                                                                | 116                                                                | 127                                                                | 127                                                                | 125                                                                | 125                                                                | 129                                                                | 123                                                                | 130                                                                | 138                                                                | 119                                                                | 121                                                                |
| Urad Dal                                                           | 1 Kg                                                               | 131                                                                | 130                                                                | 132                                                                | 113                                                                | 109                                                                | 132                                                                | 128                                                                | 123                                                                | 130                                                                | 129                                                                | 128                                                                | 130                                                                | 122                                                                | 115                                                                | 125                                                                |
| Moong Dal                                                          | 1 Kg                                                               | 117                                                                | 118                                                                | 115                                                                | 105                                                                | 113                                                                | 117                                                                | 117                                                                | 115                                                                | 120                                                                | 110                                                                | 117                                                                | 110                                                                | 110                                                                | 114                                                                | 115                                                                |
| Masoor Dal                                                         | 1 Kg                                                               | 90                                                                 | 100                                                                | 92                                                                 | 98                                                                 | 104                                                                | 93                                                                 | 92                                                                 | 98                                                                 | 93                                                                 | 89                                                                 | 93                                                                 | 90                                                                 | 100                                                                | 90                                                                 | 92                                                                 |
| Sugar                                                              | 1 Kg                                                               | 46                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 46                                                                 | 47                                                                 | 51                                                                 | 46                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 46                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 46                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 43                                                                 | 45                                                                 | 45                                                                 |
| Milk@                                                              | 1 ltr                                                              | 55                                                                 | 62                                                                 | 55                                                                 | 65                                                                 | 66                                                                 | 55                                                                 | 65                                                                 | 63                                                                 | 60                                                                 | 60                                                                 | 61                                                                 | 60                                                                 | 60                                                                 | 64                                                                 | 63                                                                 |
| Groundnut Oil (Packed)                                             | 1 Kg                                                               | 220                                                                | 212                                                                | 220                                                                | 216                                                                | 222                                                                | 227                                                                | NR                                                                 | 209                                                                | NR                                                                 | 220                                                                | 212                                                                | 225                                                                | 212                                                                | 220                                                                | 219                                                                |
| Mustard Oil (Packed)                                               | 1 Kg                                                               | 196                                                                | 200                                                                | 200                                                                | 179                                                                | 191                                                                | 201                                                                | 179                                                                | 183                                                                | 192                                                                | 195                                                                | 191                                                                | 192                                                                | 181                                                                | 184                                                                | 192                                                                |
| Vanaspati (Packed)                                                 | 1 Kg                                                               | 165                                                                | 167                                                                | 165                                                                | 159                                                                | 183                                                                | 167                                                                | 172                                                                | 161                                                                | 170                                                                | 158                                                                | 166                                                                | 159                                                                | 183                                                                | 164                                                                | 166                                                                |
| Soya Oil (Packed)                                                  | 1 Kg                                                               | 154                                                                | 161                                                                | 154                                                                | 126                                                                | 138                                                                | 132                                                                | 152                                                                | 130                                                                | 159                                                                | 148                                                                | 155                                                                | 145                                                                | 154                                                                | 143                                                                | 154                                                                |
| Sunflower Oil (Packed)                                             | 1 Kg                                                               | 183                                                                | 183                                                                | 187                                                                | 165                                                                | 136                                                                | 183                                                                | 176                                                                | 174                                                                | NR                                                                 | 162                                                                | NR                                                                 | 154                                                                | 176                                                                | 190                                                                | 179                                                                |
| Palm Oil (Packed)                                                  | 1 Kg                                                               | NR                                                                 | NR                                                                 | 132                                                                | 124                                                                | 141                                                                | 134                                                                | 135                                                                | 124                                                                | NR                                                                 | 140                                                                | 137                                                                | 132                                                                | 109                                                                | 137                                                                | 154                                                                |
| Gur 1                                                              | Kg                                                                 | 57                                                                 | 58                                                                 | 57                                                                 | 50                                                                 | 57                                                                 | 57                                                                 | 60                                                                 | 54                                                                 | 57                                                                 | 48                                                                 | 58                                                                 | 48                                                                 | 53                                                                 | 60                                                                 | 57                                                                 |
| Tea Loose                                                          | 1 Kg                                                               | 272                                                                | 285                                                                | 267                                                                | 293                                                                | 288                                                                | 283                                                                | 277                                                                | 277                                                                | 257                                                                | 263                                                                | 277                                                                | 250                                                                | 287                                                                | 274                                                                | 277                                                                |
| Salt Pack (Iodised)                                                | 1 Kg                                                               | 29                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 29                                                                 | 30                                                                 | 25                                                                 | 29                                                                 | 29                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 29                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 28                                                                 |
| Potato                                                             | 1 Kg                                                               | 20                                                                 | 22                                                                 | 20                                                                 | 20                                                                 | 19                                                                 | 19                                                                 | 24                                                                 | 22                                                                 | 19                                                                 | 20                                                                 | 21                                                                 | 18                                                                 | 15                                                                 | 20                                                                 | 18                                                                 |
| Onion                                                              | 1 Kg                                                               | 28                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 29                                                                 | 25                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 28                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 23                                                                 | 25                                                                 | 27                                                                 | 25                                                                 | 25                                                                 | 26                                                                 | 28                                                                 |

| Tomato                | 1 Kg      |   68 | 80    | 70   | 67   |   78 |   63 |   80 |   80 |   70 |   60 |   70 | 60   |   80 |   73 |   75 |
|-----------------------|-----------|------|-------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Bajra (whole)         | 1 Kg      |   37 | 37    | 35   | 31   |   41 |   36 |   35 |   30 |   40 |   35 |   37 | 36   |   34 |   31 |   44 |
| Jowar (whole)         | 1 Kg      |   40 | 48 38 |      | 40   |   30 |   42 |   41 |   53 |   38 |   45 |   42 | 45   |   45 |   40 |   56 |
| Maida (wheat)         | 1 Kg      |   40 | 39    | 40   | 40   |   42 |   39 |   39 |   39 |   35 |   40 |   40 | 40   |   33 |   40 |   38 |
| Ragi (whole)          | 1 Kg      |   58 | 62    | 57   | NR   |   63 |   55 |   62 |   72 |   63 |   67 |   57 | NR   |   65 |   61 |   62 |
| Suji (whole)          | 1 Kg      |   39 | 42    | 40   | 41   |   42 |   39 |   38 |   39 |   40 |   40 |   41 | 40   |   40 |   40 |   39 |
| Besan                 | 1 Kg      |   93 | 97    | 92   | 92   |   97 |   92 |   92 |   90 |   88 |   88 |   92 | 85   |   85 |   98 |   97 |
| Desi Ghee             | 1 Kg      |  639 | 560   | 635  | 674  |  625 |  650 |  637 |  602 |  637 |  611 |  634 | 604  |  551 |  615 |  626 |
| Butter (Pasteurised ) | 100 gm    |   60 | 57    | 60   | 60   |   56 |   60 |   60 |   60 |   60 |   58 |   60 | 60   |   53 |   58 |   60 |
| Eggs                  | 1 Doze n  |   70 | 64    | 70   | 68   |   66 |   68 |   63 |   71 |   72 |   70 |   71 | 66   |   73 |   73 |   72 |
| Brinjal               | 1 Kg      |   40 | 48    | 37   | 40   |   35 |   40 |   53 |   58 |   40 |   50 |   52 | 50   |   36 |   35 |   42 |
| Black Pepper (whole)  | 100 gm    |   95 | 88    | 97   | 93   |   99 |   95 |   90 |   92 |   97 |   89 |   93 | 95   |   97 |   87 |   93 |
| Coriander (whole)     | 250 gm 39 |   37 |       | 40   | 37   |   49 |   37 |   41 |   36 |   42 |   40 |   38 | 40   |   47 |   47 |   38 |
| Cummin Seed (whole)   | 100 gm    |   37 | 42    | 34   | 37   |   45 |   35 |   39 |   34 |   38 |   46 |   39 | 49   |   50 |   34 |   44 |
| Red Chillies (whole)  | 100 gm    |   28 | 23    | 28   | 29   |   34 |   28 |   26 |   25 |   37 |   32 |   26 | 27   |   33 |   22 |   32 |
| Turmeric (powder)     | 50 gm     |   13 | 20    | 13   | 15   |   15 |   14 |   16 |   13 |   17 |   15 |   15 | 15   |   15 |   14 |   15 |
| Banana                | 1 Kg      |   50 | 47    | 47   | 50   |   59 |   50 |   57 |   50 |   50 |   50 |   53 | 50   |   48 |   50 |   49 |

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