Lok Sabha Question No. 1406 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-12
Subject: Strengthening of Consumer Fora
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT, DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL, KAMLA DEVI PATLE, SUPRIYA SADANAND SULE, RAJEEV SHANKARRAO SATAV

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1406

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.02.2019

## STRENGTHENING OF CONSUMER FOR A

1406.   DR. HEENA  VIJAYKUMAR  GAVIT:  SHRI DHANANJAY  MAHADIK:  DR.  J. JAYAVARDHAN:  SHRI  MOHITE  PATIL  VIJAYSINH  SHANKARRAO:  SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE: SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: SHRI SATAV RAJEEV:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the inordinate delay in disposing of cases filed in various consumer fora across the country, if so, the reasons for the same and the time-frame for the disposal of such cases by the various fora in a time bound manner;
- (b) whether the consumers in the country are not educated about the consumer rights they enjoy, if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to create awareness about the consumer  rights  and  Consumer  Act  especially  in  the  rural  areas  along  with  the  outcome thereof;
- (c) whether any consumer awareness programme  has been undertaken in the country, particularly  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  and  if  so,  the  details  of  the  activities  undertaken under the said programme along with the amount of funds sanctioned for the purpose during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (d) the details of the steps taken for empowering/strengthening of the consumer fora as well as making a provision for online registration of complaints to ensure speedy disposal of cases; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to make amendment in the Consumer Protection Act with a view to make it more effective and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h ¼Jh lh- vkj- pkS/kjh½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a)       : Yes, Madam. The increasing number of cases filed, in the Consumer Fora, lack of infrastructural  facilities    etc  are  some  of  the  factors  for  the  delay  in  disposal  of  cases  by  the Consumer Fora.  To expedite disposal of cases in the consumer fora, the National Commission holds Circuit  Benches  sittings  in  different  States,  conducts  sittings  in  summer  vacation  and  has  also constituted Single Member Bench(es) for speedy disposal of cases.
- (b) & (c) : No,  Madam.  Consumers  in  the  country  are  aware  of  their  rights,  which  is  evident from the fact of growing number of consumer complaints being registered in the Consumer Fora and National Consumer Helpline every year.

The Government carries out a multi-media campaign 'Jago Grahak Jago' on pan-India basis covering both rural and urban areas through print, electronic and outdoor media. Grants-in-aid are also  released  to  States/UTs  for  creating  consumer  awareness  in  the  respective  States/UTs  in  their regional languages so as to further ensure that the campaign reaches the rural and backward areas of the country by way of focusing on hoardings, village mandis, agricultural regulated markets/vegetables  markets  at  prominent  places  in  rural  areas.  Rupees  fifty  lakh  was  released  to Government of Maharastra in 2014-15   for creating consumer awareness in the state .

(d)         : The  Central  Government  has  been  providing  financial  assistance  to  the  states  for strengthening  infrastructure  of  the  Consumer  Fora.  Computer  hardware/software  and  technical manpower are provided to the Consumer Fora for computerization of their functioning. There is no provision for online registration of complaints in the existing Consumer Protection Act.

(e)        : To make the consumer protection legislation more effective and to keep  pace with the changes that have taken place in the market over the years, the Consumer Protection Bill 2018 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 5 th January, 2018 to replace the existing Consumer Protection Act, 1986.  The Bill seeks to provide for establishment of an executive agency to be known as the Central  Consumer Protection  Authority  (CCPA)  to  promote,  protect  and  enforce  the  rights  of  the consumers, provision of mediation as an alternate dispute resolution, provision of product liability action and several other provisions for simplification of the consumer disputes adjudication process in the consumer fora. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 20 th  December, 2018 and has been sent to  the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing.

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