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The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution would provide more financial assistance to strengthen the infrastructure of consumer forums to supplement the efforts of the State Governments. This would be in addition to the one time grant of Rs. 61.8 crore given to States for this purpose during the period 1995 to 1999. This was stated here today by Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution at the inaugural session of a Seminar on “Making Consumer Fora More Effective and Functional”. This Seminar was organized by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in connection with the celebrations of World Consumer Rights Day (March 15).
Shri Pawar urged the Consumer Courts to ensure that the unique Fora function effectively to retain their character so that the people’s confidence in their justice delivery system remained unshaken. He suggested heavy penalties for repeated violation of Consumer Rights as suitably as possible. Inviting suggestions from the Consumer Courts for improving the functioning of the Forum, the Minister said that the Government would consider further amendments to the Consumer Protection Act in case it became necessary for ensuring speedy and inexpensive justice delivery to the aggrieved consumers. The Department, he said had already constituted a Working Group for looking into the Act and to suggest changes to make Consumer Courts more effective.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri H.R. Bhardwaj, Union Minister of Law and Justice said that special Fora like the Consumer Courts should be treated on par with the judicial system in the country. The service conditions of the Members of the Forum should be equal to that of the judiciary to make it acceptable to the persons who are to provide dispensation of consumer justice. Government, he said, should give fullest cooperation in this regard.
Inaugurating the Seminar, Hon’ble Shri Justice R.C. Lahoti, Chief Justice of India underlined the need for strengthening the consumer justice delivery system especially in this modern age of technological advancement and media exposure. He appealed to the Central Government to strengthen the Consumer Courts with proper infrastructure, technological and manpower facilities enabling them to deliver speedy justice to consumers.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri Justice M.B. Shah, President NCDRC emphasized the need for educating the consumers about their rights and responsibilities. The manufacturers and traders are also to be educated about their duties towards the society as the concept of the consumer welfare in any country should be based on ethical conduct and morality. The Consumer Court system in India is trying to bring justice to consumer problems against all odds and the disposal of cases in the National Commission is about 80%. In order to provide legal assistance to the needy and poor persons who cannot afford to come before the National Commission or to pay for the advocates, the Consumer Courts are providing assistance of amicus curiae. So far 581 cases have been represented by amicus curiae at a cost of Rs. 8.74 lakhs upto March 4, 2005, he added.
SB/NSR
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