Lok Sabha Question No. 3908 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-22
Subject: Consumer Awareness
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, NISHIKANT  DUBEY, PARVATAGOUDA CHANDANAGOUDA GADDIGOUDAR, SUDHEER GUPTA, SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD, SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH, VINOD KUMAR SONKAR, SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE, K. MARAGATHAM

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3908

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.12.2015

## CONSUMER AWARENESS

3908.  KUNWAR  HARIBANSH  SINGH: SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY: SHRI P.C. GADDIGOUDAR: SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA: SHRI FEROZE VARUN GANDHI: DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD: SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH: SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR: DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE: SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM:

## 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  made  any  assessment/review  of  the  functioning  of Consumer  Courts  to  make  them  more  effective,  if  so,  the  details  and  the  outcome thereof indicating the  number of functional and non-functional courts in the country, State-wise;
- (b whether  a  large  number  of  cases  are  pending  in  consumer  courts,  if  so,  the  details thereof  and  the  reasons  therefor  indicating  the  number  of  cases  registered,  disposed and pending during the last three years and the current year along with the steps taken for speedy disposal of pending cases, Statewise;
- (c) whether the Government  has  fixed  or proposes  to  fix  any  time  limit  for  disposal  of cases by Consumer Fora, if so, the details thereof and the mechanism in place to ensure its compliance;
- (d) whether the Supreme Court has made adverse observations about the shortage of staff, working  condition  and  lack  of  infrastructure  in  Consumer  Courts,  if  so,  the  details thereof and the response of the Government thereto along with the steps proposed to be taken thereon;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the  funds  allocated  and  utilised  for  creating  awareness  about  Consumer  Rights  and Laws, if so, the details thereof?

## 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) : Yes, Madam. The Government had instituted a study through Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi in 2012. The study revealed that factors such as involvement of  lawyers,  inadequate  laboratory  testing  facility,  lack  of  capacity  of  Members  to  adjudicate complaints, lack of infrastructure and manpower needs to be improved for effective functioning of Consumer Fora.

The details of functional and non-functional courts in the country are given in Annexure I.

(b) : The statement showing the number of cases registered, disposed and pending in these Fora during the last three years and the current year is given in Annexure II.

The pendency in Consumer Fora is due to various reasons such as increased number of cases  caused  by  growing  consumers'  awareness,  strict  implementation  of  due  process  of adjudication,  frequent adjournments,  scope for multiple appeals and vacancy of incumbents in certain States/UTs.

The steps taken for speedy disposal of the cases are as under:

- (1) The  State  Governments  have  been  requested  from  time  to  time  to  take  action  well  in advance for filling up of vacancies of President and Member and to maintain a panel of candidates for filling  of future vacancies  to avoid delay in appointments.
- (2) Circuit Benches from National Commission have been frequently visiting States.
- (3) Some State Commissions have constituted Additional Benches mainly to dispose backlog of pending cases.
- (4) The National Commission and some of the State Commissions as well as District Fora are adopting the process of holding Lok Adalats for speedy disposal of the cases.
- (5) Financial  assistance  is  provided  by  the  Central  Government  to  the  States/UTs  for strengthening the infrastructure of Consumer  Fora including computerization and networking.

(c): Section 13 (3A) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, provides that,  every complaint shall be heard as expeditiously as possible and endeavor shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint  does  not  require  analysis  or  testing  of  commodities  and  within  five  months,  if  it requires analysis or testing of commodities:

Provided that no adjournment shall be ordinarily granted by the District Forum unless sufficient  cause  is  shown  and  the  reasons  for  grant  of  adjournment  have  been  recorded  in writing by the Forum:

Provided  further  that  the  District  Forum  shall  make  such  orders  as  to  the  costs occasioned by the adjournment as may be provided in the regulations made under this Act:

Provided  also  that  in  the  event  of  a  complaint  being  disposed  of  after  the  period  so specified, the District Forum shall record in writing, the reasons  for the  same at the time of disposing of the said complaint.

(d): No, Madam. There is a Civil Appeal no. 2740/2007 before the Hon'ble Supreme Court regarding the problems being faced by the Consumer Fora in their functioning. The Government will take action as per the directions that may be given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in this case.

(e) : Yes, Madam. To amend the existing Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the Government introduced  Consumer  Protection  Bill  2015  in  Lok  Sabha  on  10.08.2015.  The  proposed  Bill seeks to provide for several provisions aimed at simplifying the consumer  dispute adjudication process in the consumer fora. These include, among others, enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the  Consumer Grievance Redressal Agencies, increasing minimum number of Members in the consumer courts to facilitate quick disposal of complaints, power to review their own orders by  the  State  and  District  Commission,  constitution  of    'Circuit  Bench'  to  facilitate  quicker disposal  of  complaints  ,  reforming  the  process  for  the  appointment  of  the  President  and Members  of the District Fora, enabling provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically  and  file  complaints  in  consumer  courts  that  have  jurisdiction  over  the  place  of residence  of  the  complainant,  and  deemed  admissibility  of  complaints  if  the  question  of admissibility is not decided within the specified period of 21 days.

(f) : The Government has allocated funds for creating awareness about consumer rights, laws and consumer Movement. The details of the funds allocated are given in the Annexure III.

*****

## ANNEXURE-I

## STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3908 FOR 22.12.2015 REGARDING CONSUMER AWARENESS.

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## INFORMATION REGARDING FUNCTIONAL/NON-FUNCTIONAL (STATE COMMISSIONS/ DISTRICT FORUMS)

| Sl. No.   | States            | Whether SC Functional or Non- functional   |   No. of Fora |   District |   Functional Non- functional | As on      |
|-----------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------|------------|------------------------------|------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    | Yes                                        |            17 |         17 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 2         | A &NIslands       | Yes                                        |             1 |          1 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh | Yes                                        |            16 |         13 |                            3 | 31.03.2015 |
| 4         | Assam             | Yes                                        |            23 |         21 |                            2 | 31.03.2015 |
| 5         | Bihar             | Yes                                        |            38 |         33 |                            5 | 30.06.2014 |
| 6         | Chandigarh        | Yes                                        |             2 |          2 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 7         | Chattisgarh       | Yes                                        |            27 |         18 |                            9 | 30.06.2015 |
| 8         | Daman &Diu        | Yes                                        |             2 |          2 |                            0 | 31.03.2011 |
| 9         | Delhi             | Yes                                        |            10 |         10 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 10        | Goa               | Yes                                        |             2 |          2 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 11        | Gujrat            | Yes                                        |            30 |         30 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 12        | Haryana           | Yes                                        |            21 |         21 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh  | Yes                                        |            12 |         12 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 14        | Jammu &Kashmir    | Yes                                        |             2 |          2 |                            0 | 30.06.2014 |
| 15        | Jharkhand         | Yes                                        |            22 |         22 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 16        | Karnataka         | Yes                                        |            31 |         31 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 17        | Kerala            | Yes                                        |            14 |         14 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 18        | Lakshadweep       | Yes                                        |             1 |          1 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh    | Yes                                        |            48 |         48 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 20        | Maharashtra       | Yes                                        |            40 |         40 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 21        | Manipur           | Yes                                        |             9 |          9 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 22        | Meghalaya         | Yes                                        |            11 |          7 |                            4 | 31.03.2015 |
| 23        | Mizoram           | Yes                                        |             8 |          8 |                            0 | 31.12.2014 |
| 24        | Nagaland          | Yes                                        |            11 |          8 |                            3 | 31.03.2015 |
| 25        | Orissa            | Yes                                        |            31 |         31 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 26        | Pondicherry       | Yes                                        |             1 |          1 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 27        | Punjab            | Yes                                        |            20 |         20 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 28        | Rajasthan         | Yes                                        |            37 |         37 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 29        | Sikkim            | Yes                                        |             4 |          4 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 30        | Tamil Nadu        | Yes                                        |            30 |         26 |                            4 | 31.03.2015 |
| 31        | Telangana         | Yes                                        |            12 |         12 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 32        | Tripura           | Yes                                        |             4 |          4 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
| 33        | Uttar Pradesh     | Yes                                        |            79 |         79 |                            0 | 30.06.2015 |
| 34        | Uttaranchal       | Yes                                        |            13 |         12 |                            1 | 31.03.2015 |
| 35        | West Bengal       | Yes                                        |            21 |         21 |                            0 | 31.03.2015 |
|           | TOTAL             |                                            |           650 |        619 |                           31 |            |

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3908 FOR 22.12.2015 REGARDING CONSUMER AWARENESS.

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## YEAR-WISE FILING & DISPOSAL IN NATIOANAL COMMISSION & STATE COMMISSIONS

(Upto 31.12.2014)

| National Commission   | 2012   | 2012     | 2013   | 2013     | 2014   | 2014     |
|-----------------------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|
| National Commission   | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed |
| National Commission   | 5116   | 4452     | 7223   | 6602     | 5360   | 4768     |
| States                | 2012   | 2012     | 2013   | 2013     | 2014   | 2014     |
|                       | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed |
| Andhra Pradesh        | 1138   | 1039     | 1586   | 1467     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| A &NIslands           | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Arunachal Pradesh     | 2      | 5        | 4      | 5        | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Assam                 | 68     | 354      | 63     | 419      | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Bihar                 | 652    | 311      | 597    | 325      | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Chandigarh            | 576    | 598      | 825    | 874      | 719    | 754      |
| Chattisgarh           | 878    | 717      | 695    | 491      | 842    | 909      |
| D &NHaveli/Daman &Diu | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Delhi                 | 1744   | 1898     | 2173   | 1292     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Goa                   | 79     | 139      | 146    | 176      | 142    | 138      |
| Gujrat                | 5589   | 3417     | 3365   | 6375     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Haryana               | 1476   | 5983     | 1073   | 905      | 1389   | 841      |
| Himachal Pradesh      | 1452   | 2021     | 1584   | 1673     | 1945   | 1700     |
| Jammu &Kashmir        | 327    | 411      | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Jharkhand             | 190    | 453      | 170    | 173      | 84     | 86       |
| Karnataka             | 2446   | 2252     | 2054   | 3008     | 2087   | 1523     |
| Kerala                | 1036   | 921      | 1198   | 731      | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Lakshadweep           | 0      | 0        | 1      | 0        | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Madhya Pradesh        | 2557   | 2241     | 2759   | 1793     | 2653   | 1069     |
| Maharashtra           | 2596   | 1135     | 3693   | 6043     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Manipur               | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Meghalaya             | 262    | 175      | 275    | 266      | 298    | 285      |
| Mizoram               | 16     | 25       | 8      | 5        | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Nagaland              | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Orissa                | 1026   | 844      | 477    | 369      | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Pondicherry           | 41     | 36       | 14     | 8        | 8      | 8        |
| Punjab                | 1912   | 2387     | 1636   | 3528     | 1514   | 2090     |
| Rajasthan             | 2963   | 2247     | 2601   | 2312     | 2376   | 1534     |
| Sikkim                | 2      | 1        | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Tamilnadu             | 957    | 770      | 914    | 683      | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Tripura               | 66     | 82       | 132    | 37       | 71     | 130      |
| Uttar Pradesh         | 3698   | 3117     | 3572   | 4201     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Uttarakhand           | 216    | 232      | 379    | 234      | 339    | 226      |
| West Bengal           | 1827   | 1170     | 2520   | 1572     | 2197   | 1369     |
| TOTAL                 | 35792  | 34981    | 34514  | 38965    | 16664  | 12662    |

## YEAR-WISE FILING & DISPOSAL IN DISTRICT FORUMS

(Upto 31.12.2014)

| States                | 2012   | 2012     | 2013   | 2013     | 2014   | 2014     |
|-----------------------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|
| States                | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed |
| Andhra Pradesh        | 4308   | 2688     | 3739   | 1149     | 1052   | 27       |
| A &NIslands           | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Arunachal Pradesh     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Assam                 | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Bihar                 | 3852   | 2608     | 3730   | 2239     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Chandigarh            | 3485   | 3537     | 2157   | 2165     | 1576   | 1587     |
| Chattisgarh           | 2384   | 2382     | 1801   | 1785     | 2270   | 1954     |
| D &NHaveli/Daman &Diu | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Delhi                 | 9217   | 8017     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Goa                   | 173    | 220      | 208    | 294      | 214    | 276      |
| Gujrat                | 7843   | 12010    | 8909   | 10003    | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Haryana               | 8899   | 9038     | 7714   | 10740    | 6881   | 8696     |
| Himachal Pradesh      | 2060   | 2104     | 2024   | 2313     | 1860   | 1981     |
| Jammu &Kashmir        | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Jharkhand             | 1565   | 1037     | 1527   | 953      | 515    | 481      |
| Karnataka             | 7917   | 7344     | 7703   | 6427     | 11113  | 6167     |
| Kerala                | 6182   | 5728     | 6142   | 4770     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Lakshadweep           | 3      | 0        | 2      | 0        | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Madhya Pradesh        | 11106  | 11265    | 10430  | 11323    | 10330  | 8613     |
| Maharashtra           | 10573  | 4047     | 9649   | 7795     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Manipur               | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Meghalaya             | 857    | 761      | 931    | 842      | 995    | 911      |
| Mizoram               | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Nagaland              | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Orissa                | 4162   | 2980     | 3240   | 2607     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Pondicherry           | 50     | 48       | 56     | 18       | 47     | 44       |
| Punjab                | 8645   | 8714     | 8417   | 10198    | 5831   | 6230     |
| Rajasthan             | 24016  | 21301    | 22140  | 20879    | 14947  | 14947    |
| Sikkim                | 13     | 18       | 0      | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Tamilnadu             | 3204   | 2267     | 3316   | 2498     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Tripura               | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Uttar Pradesh         | 23854  | 26708    | 26073  | 26060    | N.A.   | N.A.     |
| Uttarakhand           | 1224   | 803      | 1430   | 1316     | 1421   | 1112     |
| West Bengal           | 4386   | 4466     | 5896   | 5116     | 4994   | 4393     |
| TOTAL                 | 149978 | 140091   | 137234 | 131490   | 64046  | 57419    |

*****

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Grant-in-aid released to State Govts. during the financial year 2012-13

| S.No.   | Name of State     | Year    |   Amount Released |
|---------|-------------------|---------|-------------------|
| 1       | Chhattisgarh      | 2012-13 |       3e+06       |
| 2       | Goa               | 2012-13 |  400000           |
| 3       | Gujarat           | 2012-13 |       5.2e+06     |
| 4       | Himachal Pradesh  | 2012-13 |       1.582e+06   |
| 5       | Madhya Pradesh    | 2012-13 |       4.04129e+06 |
| 6       | Punjab            | 2012-13 |       4e+06       |
| 7       | West Bengal       | 2012-13 |       3.8e+06     |
| 8       | Arunachal Pradesh | 2012-13 |       3.2e+06     |
| 9       | Nagaland          | 2012-13 |       2.2e+06     |
| 10      | Tripura           | 2012-13 |       1e+06       |
| 11      | Puducherry        | 2012-13 |  800000           |
|         |                   | Total   |       2.92233e+07 |

Grant-in-aid released to State Govts. during the financial year 2013-14

| S.No.   | Name of State     | Year    |   Amount Released |
|---------|-------------------|---------|-------------------|
| 1       | Chhattisgarh      | 2013-14 |       3e+06       |
| 2       | Gujarat           | 2013-14 |       5e+06       |
| 3       | Haryana           | 2013-14 |       2.88453e+06 |
| 4       | Himachal Pradesh  | 2013-14 |       2e+06       |
| 5       | Madhya Pradesh    | 2013-14 |       5e+06       |
| 6       | Maharashtra       | 2013-14 |       2.882e+06   |
| 7       | Punjab            | 2013-14 |       3e+06       |
| 8       | Uttar Pradesh     | 2013-14 |       9.125e+06   |
| 10      | West Bengal       | 2013-14 |       4.75925e+06 |
| 11      | Arunachal Pradesh | 2013-14 |       2e+06       |
| 12      | Assam             | 2013-14 |       2.99318e+06 |
| 13      | Nagaland          | 2013-14 |       2e+06       |
| 14      | Tripura           | 2013-14 |       2e+06       |
| 15      | Puducherry        | 2013-14 |  875000           |
|         |                   | Total   |       4.7519e+07  |

Grant-in-aid released to State Govts. during the financial year 2014-15

| S.No.   | Name of State   | Year    |   Amount Released |
|---------|-----------------|---------|-------------------|
| 1       | Goa             | 2014-15 |  500000           |
| 2       | Gujarat         | 2014-15 |       5e+06       |
| 3       | Haryana         | 2014-15 |       3e+06       |
| 4       | Maharashtra     | 2014-15 |       5e+06       |
| 5       | Rajasthan       | 2014-15 |       4.64656e+06 |
| 6       | Telangana       | 2014-15 |       2e+06       |
| 7       | Uttar Pradesh   | 2014-15 |       8.5e+06     |
| 8       | West Bengal     | 2014-15 |       4.75925e+06 |
| 9       | Assam           | 2014-15 |       2.99318e+06 |
| 10      | Mizoram         | 2014-15 |       2e+06       |
| 11      | Nagaland        | 2014-15 |       2e+06       |
| 12      | Tripura         | 2014-15 |       2e+06       |
| 13      | Sikkim          | 2014-15 |       2e+06       |
| 14      | Delhi           | 2014-15 |       2.17003e+06 |
|         |                 | Total   |       4.6569e+07  |

Grant-in-aid released to State Govts. during the financial year 2015-16

| 1   | Goa         | 2015-16   |   2000000.00 |
|-----|-------------|-----------|--------------|
| 2   | Kerala      | 2015-16   |  2.55252e+06 |
| 3   | Meghalaya   | 2015-16   |  2e+06       |
| 4   | Mizoram     | 2015-16   |  2e+06       |
| 5   | Nagaland    | 2015-16   |  2e+06       |
| 6   | Rajasthan   | 2015-16   |  5e+06       |
| 7   | Sikkim      | 2015-16   |  2e+06       |
| 8   | Telangana   | 2015-16   |  2e+06       |
| 9   | Tripura     | 2015-16   |  2e+06       |
| 10  | West Bengal | 2015-16   |  5e+06       |
|     |             | Total     |  2.65525e+07 |

*****