It may be noted that all types of edible oil, vanaspati ghee and margarine have been brought under the Centre's order.

Addressing a press conference, Pathak protested against the Centre's order and said that the choice of purchasing packed or lose edible oil should be left to the discretion of the consumer.

He said the consumer organistion had no objection over the sale of packed oil instead the forceful implementation of its order by the Centre. He described the decision as beneficial to companies such as Godrej, Reliance and packaging giant like Tetra Pak. ``Besides favouring the industries the order will promote the use of plastics,'' he said.

With packing made mandatory, such a situation will lead to stiff competition among the oil producers which will try to present their product in attractive packagings. Such a situation will lead to increase input costs which the consumer will have to pay for, argued Pathak.

He criticised the idea of creating the post and associate machinery of Edible Oil Commissioner when the existing regulatory laws and regulations were not implemented properly.