J&K Art Dealers Asked To Remove Machine-Crafted Items Within 7 Days Or Face Blacklisting
To curb misbranding and promote genuine products, the department has introduced G.I-based QR labelling for various crafts at PTQCC, IICT & Quality Control labs: J&K Government
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has, in order to protect the scenic region’s exquisite handicrafts from imitation and curb unethical practices in the centuries-old industry, directed dealers to remove all mass-produced or machine-crafted items from their shelves within one week, threatening blacklisting and deregistration for non-compliance.
On Friday, the Department of Handicrafts & Handloom (JKDHH) issued a notice directing Kashmir handicraft dealers to remove all machine-made products, primarily imported from Turkey and Iran, from their showrooms. Failure to comply will result in blacklisting and deregistration for unfair trade practices under applicable laws, it warned.
“You have been granted registration under the provisions of the Jammu & Kashmir Tourist Trade Act, 1978, for the sale of Kashmir handicraft products at your respective showrooms/outlets,” the notice says, reminding the craft dealers of each having submitted a duly-sworn affidavit, “wherein you undertook to exclusively display and sell genuine Kashmir handicraft products at your business establishments.”
The sources in the department said that complaints have been pouring in over a period of time that some traders were involved in misrepresentation of machine-made goods as exquisite Kashmiri handmade crafts. The sources said that the department has initiated the “unprecedented move” to “protect customers from being cheated while ensuring fair treatment for artisans and preserving the integrity of authentic handicrafts of the Valley”.
While taking a serious note of counterfeit machine-made carpets being passed off as authentic Kashmiri hand-knotted products, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had a day ago asked the concerned authorities to take stern action against the unscrupulous owners of the showrooms and retail outlets across the region.
The Chief Minister had said that mass-produced crafts sold in the name of hand-knitted products would damage the globally-renowned Kashmir's handicrafts industry which is a centuries-old tradition deeply rooted in the region's culture and history, known for its intricate and exquisite craftsmanship and also adversely affect the artisan families.
Earlier during the day on Thursday, a delegation from the Carpet Export Promotion Council, Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, Meeras Carpet Weavers’ Cooperative, Kashmir Carpet Cluster Development Organisation and Kashmir Carpet Manufacturers’ Association had met Abdullah at the Civil Secretariat here to seek the government’s intervention towards prohibiting the sale of machine-made carpets in all registered handicrafts showrooms and stronger enforcement mechanisms.
A spokesman of the JKDHH told this newspaper that in response to growing complaints from buyers and tourists about the sale of machine-made carpets from outside the region being falsely marketed as authentic Kashmiri handmade carpets, it had already intensified a crackdown on unscrupulous carpet sellers. “During the past couple of months, dozens of counterfeit products were confiscated and stern warnings were issued to errant dealers to ensure compliance with Quality Control standards,” the spokesman said, adding that one such dealer operating from the Tangmarg area near Srinagar was blacklisted earlier this week.
The notice issued by the department on Thursday states that, during recent inspections conducted by this office under ‘Violation of Rules’ section, it was found that several dealers have breached the extant rules by displaying and selling machine-made products, misrepresented as genuine Kashmir handicrafts. “Such malpractices undermine the authenticity and reputation of Kashmir handicrafts and this office has in response to these violations-imposed penalties on defaulting dealers in accordance with the provisions of the J&K Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1978,” it says.
The spokesman said that Director JKDHH, his counterpart at the IICT and Inspection Squad of Quality Control Division visited various showrooms in tourist-frequented areas of Srinagar such as Nishat, Nehru Park and Munawarabad and warned the showrooms owners to immediately remove the machine-made products, “failing which such showrooms shall be blacklisted and de-registered.”
The notice says that many Kashmir handicrafts are registered under the Geographical Indication of Goods Act (G.I.), Registry of India, Chennai, to protect their authenticity. “To curb misbranding and promote genuine products, the department has introduced G.I-based QR labelling for various crafts at PTQCC, IICT & Quality Control labs. However, it has come to our notice that a dealer recently affixed a fake QR label on a machine-made carpet, misrepresenting it as a genuine handmade product. Consequently, the said dealer has been blacklisted and deregistered.”
As per the notice, all registered dealers have been directed to ensure within seven days from its issuance that their showrooms exclusively display and sell genuine Kashmir handicraft products and that no machine-made products are displayed or sold. The department has warned that machine-made products are banned from being sold or displayed in Kashmir handicraft showrooms registered under handicraft or handloom categories, and any violation or misbranding including by way of pasting fake QR codes and pulling out the machine-made labels shall attract relevant clauses/provisions of the Quality Control Act, J&K Registration of Tourist Trade Act, GI Act as well as the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.