Lok Sabha Question No. 4532 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-23
Subject: Protecting the Interest of Consumers
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Pradyut Bordoloi

## Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

## Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4532

TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2021

## PROTECTING THE INTEREST OF CONSUMERS

## 4532.  SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

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 steps to protect the interest of the consumers for speedy redressal of their grievances;
- (b) if so, the details of the number of grievances filed by the consumers over last three years and the details of number of complaints addressed and that are still pending, State-wise;
- (c) if so, the details of the funds allocated and utilised for strengthening the consumer movement in the country, State-wise; and
- (d) the  details  of  other  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  protect  the  interests  of  the consumers?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h ¼Jh nkuos jkolkgsc nknkjko½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI DANVE RAOSAHEB DADARAO)

- (a)  :    To  protect  the  rights  of  consumers,  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  has  been  enacted, which provides for establishment of three-tier quasi-judicial machinery, called  Consumer Commissions,  at the District, State and National levels to provide simple and speedy redressal to consumer disputes;  establishment  of  a  Central  Consumer  Protection  Authority(CCPA)  to  regulate misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices affecting consumers as a class; simplification of the adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions such as enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions, filing of complaint from the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer irrespective of the place of transaction, e-filing and e-payment, videoconferencing for hearing, deemed admissibility of complaints if admissibility is not decided within  21  days  of  filing;  court  monitored    mediation  to  facilitate  early  disposal  of  cases; 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.
- (b)  :  Details of consumer complaints filed in the  consumer commissions across the country during the last three years 2018, 2019 and 2020 are given at Annexure-A.

(c)    :  Through  implementation of various schemes/activities, the Department of Consumer  Affairs strengthens the Consumer Movement in the country.  The Central Government provides financial assistance for the construction of buildings of Consumer Commissions and also for acquiring nonbuilding assets. Grant-in-aid is released to States/UTs for generating consumer awareness in regional languages.  Funds  are  also  provided  to  states/UTs  from  the  Consumer  Welfare  Fund    to  foster research and training on consumer related issues,  for spreading consumer literacy and awareness .

Details  of  funds  allocated  under  Consumer  awareness  campaign,  Strengthening Consumer Commissions  and  Consumer  Welfare  Fund  to  the  State  Govts./agencies/NGOs/VCOs  etc.  for strengthening consumer movement are given state-wise at Annexure-B.

(d)  :    To  protect  the  interests  of  the  consumers,  the  Govt.  has  launched  the  'Jago  Grahak  Jago' campaign  through  electronic  and  print  media  for  consumer  awareness  and  joint  awareness campaigns on consumer rights and responsibilities. The Government has set up National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and  six Zonal Consumer Helplines to  attend to consumer grievances in Hindi, English  and  regional  languages  and    serves  as  a  pre-litigation  alternate  dispute  resolution mechanism to handle the consumer grievances.

*****

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.4532  FOR  23.03.2021  REGARDING  PROTECTING  THE  INTEREST  OF CONSUMERS.

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## STATUS OF CASES FILED IN CONSUMER COMMISSIONS FOR THE YEARS 2018, 2019 and  2020

| S. No.   | Commission(s)                        |   Filed |   Disposed |   Cumulat ive Pending | Filed   | Disposed   | Cumulative Pending   | Filed   | Disposed   | Cumulati ve Pending   |
|----------|--------------------------------------|---------|------------|-----------------------|---------|------------|----------------------|---------|------------|-----------------------|
|          |                                      |    2018 |       2018 |                  2018 |         |            |                      |         |            |                       |
| 1.       | Andaman& Nicobar (UT)                |      27 |         45 |                     0 | 42      | 2019 28    | 14                   | 31      | 2020 17    | 14                    |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh                       |    2699 |       2153 |                   546 | 2648    | 1936       | 812                  | 1235    | 716        | 832                   |
| 3.       | Arunachal Pradesh                    |      37 |         10 |                    27 | 30      | 8          | 24                   | 5       | 0          | 5                     |
| 4.       | Assam                                |     536 |        418 |                   118 | 427     | 231        | 196                  | 241     | 118        | 124                   |
| 5.       | Bihar                                |    3192 |       1442 |                  1750 | 3330    | 1779       | 1551                 | 1678    | 461        | 1217                  |
| 6.       | Chandigarh (UT)                      |    2371 |       2570 |                     0 | 3036    | 2563       | 473                  | 3737    | 2160       | 1577                  |
| 7.       | Chhattisgarh                         |    5762 |       4672 |                  1090 | 5505    | 5174       | 331                  | 1741    | 1211       | 638                   |
| 8.       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli &Daman &Diu (UT) |       8 |          1 |                     7 | 3       | 2          | 1                    | 0       | 0          | 0                     |
| 9.       | Delhi (UT)                           |    6803 |       6472 |                   633 | 6203    | 5962       | 241                  | 2983    | 1609       | 1553                  |
| 10.      | Goa                                  |     373 |        319 |                    55 | 325     | 377        | 6                    | 177     | 114        | 63                    |
| 11.      | Gujarat                              |    9687 |       7506 |                  2181 | 12771   | 8073       | 4839                 | 9400    | 4774       | 4626                  |
| 12.      | Haryana                              |    9786 |       8583 |                  1203 | 13075   | 8670       | 4405                 | 9146    | 2577       | 6569                  |
| 13.      | Himachal Pradesh                     |    1898 |       1862 |                   124 | 2069    | 2116       | 123                  | 683     | 539        | 144                   |
| 14.      | Jammu& Kashmir(UT)                   |    1128 |        324 |                   834 | 361     | 146        | 215                  | 0       | 0          | 0                     |
| 15.      | Jharkhand                            |    1560 |        673 |                   887 | 1087    | 338        | 749                  | 390     | 49         | 341                   |
| 16.      | Karnataka                            |   10722 |       8547 |                  2175 | 10957   | 8145       | 2812                 | 7559    | 4587       | 2972                  |
| 17.      | Kerala                               |    5818 |       5185 |                   633 | 5663    | 3491       | 2172                 | 4573    | 2261       | 2312                  |
| 18.      | Ladakh (UT)                          |       0 |          0 |                     0 | 0       | 0          | 0                    | 0       | 0          | 0                     |
| 19.      | Lakshadweep (UT)                     |       1 |          2 |                     1 | 0       | 0          | 0                    | 0       | 0          | 0                     |
| 20.      | Madhya Pradesh                       |    9338 |       5164 |                  4474 | 15248   | 12213      | 3035                 | 11355   | 4729       | 6726                  |
| 21.      | Maharashtra                          |   19593 |      14610 |                  4983 | 22849   | 16228      | 6621                 | 13885   | 5754       | 8131                  |
| 22.      | Manipur                              |      32 |         24 |                     8 | 35      | 17         | 18                   | 17      | 11         | 6                     |
| 23.      | Meghalaya                            |      52 |         27 |                    25 | 39      | 33         | 6                    | 20      | 6          | 14                    |
| 24.      | Mizoram                              |      78 |         41 |                    37 | 52      | 23         | 29                   | 38      | 52         | 4                     |
| 25.      | Nagaland                             |      22 |          2 |                    20 | 17      | 6          | 11                   | 1       | 0          | 1                     |
| 26.      | Odisha                               |    3639 |       2293 |                  1346 | 3938    | 1546       | 2392                 | 3123    | 1321       | 1909                  |
| 27.      | Puducherry (UT)                      |      58 |         80 |                     0 | 61      | 1          | 60                   | 7620    | 4131       | 3429                  |
| 28.      | Punjab                               |   10404 |       8124 |                  2457 | 11605   | 9065       | 2540                 | 627     | 1019       | 0                     |
| 29.      | Rajasthan                            |   12832 |      14738 |                    58 | 12010   | 13274      | 433                  | 10220   | 4993       | 5655                  |
| 30.      | Sikkim                               |      30 |         22 |                     8 | 34      | 29         | 6                    | 6       | 13         | 0                     |
| 31.      | Tamil Nadu                           |    3725 |       3453 |                   451 | 3973    | 3196       | 795                  | 1960    | 1105       | 1274                  |
| 32.      | Telangana                            |    3216 |       2551 |                   665 | 3394    | 2801       | 593                  | 2622    | 2026       | 785                   |
| 33.      | Tripura                              |     162 |        188 |                     0 | 211     | 172        | 39                   | 135     | 79         | 66                    |
| 34.      | Uttar Pradesh                        |   19977 |      13067 |                  6910 | 20190   | 9650       | 10540                | 13764   | 3800       | 9964                  |
| 35.      | Uttarakhand                          |    1518 |       1542 |                    46 | 1887    | 2046       | 356                  | 1716    | 1317       | 399                   |
| 36.      | West Bengal                          |    7568 |       7236 |                   830 | 8110    | 6651       | 1459                 | 4178    | 1803       | 2383                  |
|          | Total                                |  154652 |     123946 |                 34582 | 171185  | 125990     | 47897                | 114866  | 53352      | 63733                 |

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## ANNEXURE - B

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.4532  FOR  23.03.2021  REGARDING  PROTECTING  THE  INTEREST  OF CONSUMERS.

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| Status of Grants Released for Strengthening Consumer Movement in the Country   | Status of Grants Released for Strengthening Consumer Movement in the Country   | Status of Grants Released for Strengthening Consumer Movement in the Country   | Status of Grants Released for Strengthening Consumer Movement in the Country   | (Rs. in Lakh.)   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
| S.No.                                                                          | State/UT                                                                       | 2017-18                                                                        | 2018-19                                                                        | 2019-20          |
|                                                                                | A &NIslands (UT)                                                               | 10.00                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Andhra Pradesh                                                                 | 2.50                                                                           | 161.92                                                                         | 124.55           |
|                                                                                | Arunachal Pradesh                                                              | 20.00                                                                          | 40.00                                                                          | 0                |
|                                                                                | Assam                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 3.30                                                                           | 3.50             |
|                                                                                | Bihar                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Chandigarh (UT)                                                                | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Chhattisgarh                                                                   | 0                                                                              | 2.50                                                                           | 0.69             |
|                                                                                | Dadra Nagar Haveli &Daman &Diu (UT)                                            | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 36.00            |
|                                                                                | Delhi (UT)                                                                     | 690.76                                                                         | 784.10                                                                         | 349.30           |
|                                                                                | Goa                                                                            | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Gujarat                                                                        | 68.13                                                                          | 1.50                                                                           | 33.56            |
|                                                                                | Haryana                                                                        | 0                                                                              | 6.65                                                                           | 185.66           |
|                                                                                | Himachal Pradesh                                                               | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 20.00            |
|                                                                                | Jammu &Kashmir (UT)                                                            | 35.00                                                                          | 12.50                                                                          | 0                |
|                                                                                | Jharkhand                                                                      | 313.47                                                                         | 36.53                                                                          | 0                |
|                                                                                | Karnataka                                                                      | 0                                                                              | 26.09                                                                          | 73.00            |
|                                                                                | Kerala                                                                         | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 56.00            |
|                                                                                | Ladakh (UT)                                                                    | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Lakshadweep (UT)                                                               | 10.00                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Madhya Pradesh                                                                 | 48.96                                                                          | 6.65                                                                           | 80.84            |
|                                                                                | Maharashtra                                                                    | 8.00                                                                           | 0                                                                              | 9.29             |
|                                                                                | Manipur                                                                        | 30.78                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Meghalaya                                                                      | 20.00                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 40.00            |
|                                                                                | Mizoram                                                                        | 0                                                                              | 0                                                                              | 224.90           |
|                                                                                | Nagaland                                                                       | 60.00                                                                          | 221.50                                                                         | 40.00            |
|                                                                                | Odisha                                                                         | 7.23                                                                           | 10.65                                                                          | 6.46             |
|                                                                                | Puducherry (UT)                                                                | 35.00                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 0                |
|                                                                                | Punjab                                                                         | 0                                                                              | 8.40                                                                           | 45.77            |
|                                                                                | Rajasthan                                                                      | 37.13                                                                          | 779.17                                                                         | 58.00            |
|                                                                                | Sikkim                                                                         | 30.96                                                                          | 40.00                                                                          | 490.00           |
|                                                                                | Tamil Nadu                                                                     | 80.00                                                                          | 6.65                                                                           | 53.34            |
|                                                                                | Telangana                                                                      | 572.00                                                                         | 0.08                                                                           | 20.00            |
|                                                                                | Tripura                                                                        | 19.82                                                                          | 5.00                                                                           | 44.90            |
|                                                                                | Uttar Pradesh                                                                  | 57.82                                                                          | 269.82                                                                         | 96.11            |
|                                                                                | Uttarakhand                                                                    | 35.42                                                                          | 0                                                                              | 28.09            |
|                                                                                | West Bengal                                                                    | 154.00                                                                         | 110.00                                                                         | 850.00           |
| Total                                                                          | Total                                                                          | 2346.99                                                                        | 2533.00                                                                        | 2969.95          |