Food and Civil Supplies Minister Saryu Roy, on Thursday, expressed that consumer movement in Jharkhand could not become strong enough to protect interests of consumers either due to poor interest on the part of people or because of the failure of the department to locate people working on protection of consumer rights.
Roy, while addressing officials of the department and social activists at the department’s programme—’Workshop on Strengthening of Consumer Dispute Redressal Agencies’—emphasised on the need to create ‘Directorate of Consumer Affairs’ for the sole purpose of upholding consumer’s rights. In light of the lukewarm response to the movement the Minister sought details of consumer protection cases pending in the Consumer Forum.
“We could not endeavour on consumer protection. Consumer affair is different department in many states. A Directorate of Consumer Affairs should be constituted to look into the matters of consumer protection only,” asserted Roy.
Roy added that it is shocking to learn that people working for consumer protect could not be identified despite a system of reward given annually by the State Government to people and association active on the protection of consumer rights which is precisely the reason for reducing award category from three to one.
Earlier in the programme, Chairman of the State Consumer Forum, RK Merathia pointed at the lack of human resource and basic facilities at the forum’s
office. He also stressed on the need to appoint registrar for the forum.
The event was attended by Secretary of Food and Civil Supplies, Vinay Kumar Choubey; Special Secretary of Food and Civil Supplies, BK Das and Joint Secretary of the department, Alok Trivedi.