Vikram Gour
‘National Consumer Rights Day’ (NCRD) was celebrated throughout the country on Dec 24. Consumer Protection Act is designed to protect consumer rights to ensure fair competition and free flow of truthful information in the market place. The laws are designed to prevent businessmen and service providers that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices for gaining an advantage over competitors and provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves.
Normally, various consumer organizations (NGOs) and government departments connected with protection of Consumer Rights e.g. CAPD and Legal Metrology, JMC etc use this day for creating Consumer Awareness by holding functions, seminars and symposia in schools, colleges and public places creating awareness and highlighting the importance of consumer rights on this day. But this time the government agencies have completely ignored the NCRD and have favored unscrupulous businessmen and service providers by giving them a free hand to fleece the consumer.
A front page advertisement on NCRD by Government of India highlighted steps taken by GOI in the interest of the consumer. It said ‘at the national level 616-District Consumer Fora, 35-state Consumer Commissions and at the National level National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission are fully functional. 64-Price Information Centers for monitoring prices have been set up. Consumer Affairs Ministry jointly with Health and Finance ministries has launched consumer awareness campaign. Potato and Onions have been covered under Essential Commodities Act to prevent hoarding’.
If we compare this with plight of consumers at state level we find we have 20- districts and not a single District Consumer Forum is in place. In fact 2- provincial Forums working earlier at Divisional level have been converted into district forum leaving 18-districts with no consumer court to file a complaint.
The State Consumer Protection Council with concerned Minister of CAPD as chairman, for which it is mandatory to meet at least 2-3 times a year under the Act, has not met for the last over 4-years. Pricing Committees formed by the government have not met for more than a year now. Markets have been given free hand to fix their own rates, quality and quantity they sell. Similarly all service providers have revised their charges upwards without any rationale. All concerned agencies of the government including CAPD, Drug Control, JMC, District Magistrate, Legal Metrology, Health etc have almost stopped working to protect consumers from the unscrupulous traders and service providers. Obviously the market is unbridled and trading community and service providers are completely at liberty to charge any price from the hapless consumers. Prices of vegetables are on the rise again, rates and quality milk and milk products is nobody’s business. In spite of drastic reduction in petrol and diesel prices the transporters have not reduced the fares inspite of several representations by consumer bodies.
Consumer Organizations have been trying hard to contact concerned authorities at all levels to activate the official agencies to protect the Consumer Rights as enshrined in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. But there has been no response from the government side. It is only hoped that new government after the elections immediately activates all its agencies to protect the consumer rights.
(The author is President, Consumer Welfare Assn)
Follow our WhatsApp channel