Lok Sabha Question No. 2922 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-15
Subject: Consumer Movement
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: DEVAJIBHAI GOVINDBHAI FATEPARA, SANJAY SHAMRAO DHOTRE

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2922

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.03.2016

## CONSUMER MOVEMENT

## 2922.  SHRI DEVAJIBHAI G. FATEPARA: SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE:

## 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  Government  has  launched  consumer  movement  to  protect  the  interests  of  the consumers and ensure speedy redressal of their grievances in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  number  of  consumers  benefitted  from  this movement  across  the  country  during  each  of  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has set up Consumer Welfare Fund to strengthen the consumer movement in the country, if so, the details thereof along with achievements made from the said fund so far;
- (d) the details of the funds provided to States/UTs for strengthening the consumer movement along with its utilisation during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UTwise; and
- (e) the other steps taken by the Government to protect the interests of the consumers?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=ky; ea=h ¼Jh jke foykl ikloku½

## THE MINISTER FOR

## CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)

- (a) & (b) :  Yes, Madam. The enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had set in motion a  veritable  consumer  movement  in  the  country.  Consumers  have  been  able  to  redress  their grievances/  complaints  against  any  defect  in  goods  purchased  or  deficiencies  in  any  services availed including any unfair/restrictive trade practices adopted, through specialized quasi-judicial agencies, commonly known as 'consumer Fora', that have been established at the District level (District  Forum),  State  level  (State  Commission)  and  National  level  (National  Commission). These consumer fora have been mandated by the law to render simple, inexpensive and speedy adjudication of consumer complaints. The cases filed and disposed of by the Consumer For a in the last three years 2013, 2014 and 2015 are at Annexure-I .
- (c)  &  (d)  :  The  Consumer  Welfare  Fund  was  created  in  1992  with  the  objective  of  providing financial  assistance  to  promote  and  protect  the  welfare  of  the  consumers,  create  consumer awareness and strengthen consumer movement in the country. Financial assistance is provided to Voluntary  Consumer  Organisations/Institutions  for  undertaking  consumer  advocacy/awareness, State Govt. /UTs for setting up State Consumer Welfare Fund. The details of funds provided to States/UTs for strengthening the consumer movement during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise is at Annexure-II.
- (e) :  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  in  key  sectors  -  Health,  Food,  Financial Services  and  other  Departments  for  greater  consumer  awareness.,  set  up  a  National  Consumer Helpline  and  provided  financial  support  to  the  State  Governments  to  set  up  State  Consumer Helplines in regional languages.  Five Grahak Suvidha Kendras has been set up on pilot basis, which will provide a host of consumer support services.

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ANNEXURE-I

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  &  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. 2922  FOR 15.03.2016 REGARDING CONSUMER MOVEMENT.

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## YEAR-WISE FILING & DISPOSAL IN  NATIOANL COMMISSION & STATE COMMISSIONS.

|                        | 2013   | 2013     | 2014   | 2014     | 2015   | 2015     |
|------------------------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|
|                        | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed |
| National Commission    | 7223   | 6602     | 6806   | 6668     | 5943   | 7259     |
| Andhra Pradesh         | 1586   | 1467     | 1095   | 827      | 578    | 118      |
| A&NIslands             | 2      | 2        | 2      | 0        | 3      | 1        |
| Arunachal Pradesh      | 4      | 5        | NA     | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Assam                  | 63     | 419      | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Bihar                  | 597    | 325      | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Chandigarh             | 825    | 874      | 961    | 980      | 1047   | 894      |
| Chattisgarh            | 695    | 491      | 842    | 909      | 726    | 887      |
| D & NHaveli/Daman &Diu | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Delhi                  | 2173   | 1292     | 1295   | 1335     | 558    | 503      |
| Goa                    | 146    | 176      | 142    | 138      | 127    | 155      |
| Gujrat                 | 3365   | 6375     | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Haryana                | 1073   | 905      | 1389   | 841      | 1370   | 1177     |
| Himachal Pradesh       | 1584   | 1673     | 1945   | 1700     | 1089   | 1132     |
| Jammu & Kashmir        | 388    | 423      | 304    | 329      | 1359   | 712      |
| Jharkhand              | 170    | 173      | 219    | 175      | 188    | 218      |
| Karnataka              | 2054   | 3008     | 2087   | 1523     | 1910   | 648      |
| Kerala                 | 1198   | 731      | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Lakshadweep            | 1      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Madhya Pradesh         | 2759   | 1793     | 2653   | 1069     | 1762   | 1473     |
| Maharashtra            | 2756   | 2033     | 3412   | 1725     | 4485   | 853      |
| Manipur                | 0      | 0        | 6      | 0        | 4      | 37       |
| Meghalaya              | 0nnn   | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Mizoram                | 8      | 5        | 9      | 3        | 4      | 1        |
| Nagaland               | 4      | 3        | 15     | 0        | 10     | 44       |
| Orissa                 | 477    | 369      | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Pondicherry            | 7      | 7        | 23     | 14       | 0      | 0        |
| Punjab                 | 1636   | 3528     | 1923   | 2716     | 1673   | 2760     |
| Rajasthan              | 2601   | 2312     | 2951   | 2024     | 3509   | 1779     |
| Sikkim                 | 7      | 5        | 6      | 7        | 0      | 0        |
| Tamilnadu              | 988    | 593      | 734    | 765      | 1121   | 721      |
| Telangana              | 223    | 98       | 305    | 4        | 229    | 3        |
| Tripura                | 132    | 37       | 71     | 130      | 0      | 0        |
| Uttar Pradesh          | 3572   | 4201     | 3137   | 4149     | 3453   | 3989     |
| Uttarakhand            | 379    | 234      | 339    | 226      | 305    | 280      |
| West Bengal            | 2520   | 1572     | 2827   | 1829     | 3213   | 2642     |
| TOTAL                  | 33993  | 35129    | 28692  | 23418    | 28723  | 21027    |

## YEAR-WISE FILING & DISPOSAL IN DISTRICT FORUMS

| States                | 2013   | 2013     | 2014   | 2014     | 2015   | 2015     |
|-----------------------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|
| States                | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed |
| Andhra Pradesh        | 3739   | 1149     | 1959   | 1062     | 1772   | 526      |
| A &NIslands           | 30     | 31       | 30     | 50       | 14     | 17       |
| Arunachal Pradesh     | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Assam                 | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Bihar                 | 3730   | 2239     | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Chandigarh            | 2157   | 2165     | 2078   | 2048     | 2178   | 2019     |
| Chattisgarh           | 1801   | 1785     | 2270   | 1954     | 2447   | 1460     |
| D &NHaveli/Daman &Diu | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Delhi                 | 7420   | 8226     | 8205   | 7739     | 3369   | 2690     |
| Goa                   | 208    | 294      | 214    | 276      | 199    | 182      |
| Gujrat                | 8909   | 10003    | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Haryana               | 7714   | 10740    | 6881   | 8696     | 7822   | 7803     |
| Himachal Pradesh      | 2024   | 2313     | 1860   | 1981     | 1613   | 1718     |
| Jammu &Kashmir        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Jharkhand             | 1527   | 953      | 1296   | 1154     | 1260   | 1041     |
| Karnataka             | 7703   | 6427     | 11113  | 6167     | 7848   | 6859     |
| Kerala                | 6142   | 4770     | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Lakshadweep           | 2      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Madhya Pradesh        | 10430  | 11323    | 10330  | 8613     | 10774  | 8550     |
| Maharashtra           | 9525   | 6914     | 13287  | 8486     | 14566  | 33724    |
| Manipur               | 22     | 5        | 45     | 30       | 25     | 22       |
| Meghalaya             | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Mizoram               | 60     | 8        | 56     | 53       | 33     | 21       |
| Nagaland              | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Orissa                | 3240   | 2607     | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Pondicherry           | 56     | 18       | 92     | 99       | 0      | 0        |
| Punjab                | 8417   | 10198    | 7589   | 8135     | 7885   | 7104     |
| Rajasthan             | 22140  | 20879    | 21792  | 20606    | 22990  | 20497    |
| Sikkim                | 16     | 14       | 22     | 23       | 0      | 0        |
| Tamilnadu             | 3316   | 2498     | 2992   | 1858     | 2633   | 2180     |
| Telangana             | 2058   | 1550     | 1979   | 1077     | 2133   | 288      |
| Tripura               | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        |
| Uttar Pradesh         | 26073  | 26060    | 23156  | 24579    | 24026  | 24639    |
| Uttarakhand           | 1430   | 1316     | 1421   | 1112     | 1376   | 1414     |
| West Bengal           | 5896   | 5116     | 6396   | 5892     | 6192   | 5522     |
| TOTAL                 | 145785 | 139601   | 125063 | 111690   | 121155 | 128276   |

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ANNEXURE-II

STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) & (b) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 2922  FOR 15.03.2016 REGARDING CONSUMER MOVEMENT.

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## GRANTS RELEASED TO STATE GOVERNMENTS UNDER CONSUMER WELFARE FUND

- Financial Year 2012-13
- Financial Year 2013-14
- Financial Year 2014-15
- Current Financial Year 2015-16

| S.No.   | State/UT    | Amount Released   |
|---------|-------------|-------------------|
| 1.      | West Bengal | Rs.6,48,00,000    |
| 2.      | Bihar       | Rs.2,63,00,000    |
| 3.      | Odisha      | Rs.2,63,00,000    |
| 4.      | Nagaland    | Rs.2,63,00,000    |
| 5.      | Karnataka   | Rs.2,63,00,000    |
| 6.      | Tamil Nadu  | Rs.1,00,00,000    |
|         | Total       | Rs.18,00,00,000   |

| S.No.   | State/UT       | Amount Released   |
|---------|----------------|-------------------|
| 1       | Gujrat         | Rs.7,50,00,000    |
| 2.      | Tamilnadu      | Rs.6,50,00,000    |
| 3.      | Bihar          | Rs.4,87,00,000    |
| 4.      | Odisha         | Rs.4,87,00,000    |
| 5.      | Karnataka      | Rs.4,87,00,000    |
| 6.      | Andhra Pradesh | Rs.4,38,00,000    |
|         | Total          | Rs.32,99,00,000   |

| S.No.   | State/UT       | Amount Released   |
|---------|----------------|-------------------|
| 1.      | Andhra Pradesh | Rs.2,12,00,000    |
| 2.      | Nagaland       | Rs.2,38,00,000    |
| 3.      | Haryana        | Rs.2,39,00,000    |
|         | Total          | Rs.6,89,00,000    |

| S.No.   | State/UT       | Amount Released   |
|---------|----------------|-------------------|
| 01.     | Haryana        | Rs.3.00 Crore     |
| 02.     | Andhra Pradesh | Rs.1.00 Crore     |
| 03.     | Nagaland       | Rs.1.00 Crore     |
|         | Total          | Rs.5.00 Crore     |

*****