A number of disputes keep remaining pending for decades in the court of district consumer forum across the State. This information was provided by the public information officer of Uttarakhand State Consumer Commission to one Nadimuddin in a reply to his RTI application. In all, 2,870 such disputes have remained pending with the forum across the State, it is learnt.
Notably, as per the Section 13(3A) of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, disputes on consumers must be settled within three months except those involving laboratory analysis report. Public information officer Vandana Sharma of Uttarakhand State Consumer Commission has informed to activist Nadimuddin in a reply to his RTI application through her letter no 2/2015-16 that in last quarter from January to March 2015 of financial year 2014-15, there are total 2870 disputes pending in the different district consumer forums across the state. Out of these, 11 disputes are under trial and pending for more than ten years.
Furthermore, as per the information, only 601 disputes are pending for less than six months. 713 disputes are pending for a time from six months to one year; 750 disputes for less than two years; 504 for less than three years; 116 disputes for less than five years; 38 for less than seven years while 11 are pending for more than ten years in different district consumer forums across the state.
If the information is to be believed, Dehradun, the state capital, has the highest, 957, pending in district consumer forum. The figures are 932 disputes in Haridwar, 334 in Uddham Singh Nagar, 222 in Nainital, 45 in Chamoli, 60 in Pauri Garhwal, 76 in Pithoragarh, 26 in Rudraprayag, 97 in Uttarkashi, 21 in Champawat, 48 in Tehri Garhwal, 21 in Almora and 28 disputes in Bageshwar districts.
Information further revealed that out of the 11 pending for a decade, seven are from Uttarkashi and four from Udham Singh Nagar districts. Out of 38 disputes pending for seven years, 25 are from Pithoragarh, six from Udham Singh Nagar and seven from Nainital.
Out of 116 disputes pending for five years, 47 are from Haridwar, 19 from Nainital, 17 from Udham Singh Nagar, 13 from Pithoragarh, nine from Dehradun, six from Uttarkashi and four from Pauri districts.
According to PIO, Uttarakhand State Consumer Commission, 963 appeals and 80 consumer disputes have been pending with the State Consumer Commission since 31 December 2014.