The Jharkhand State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has recorded a poor response from the public in registering complaints related to violation of the consumer protection laws.
Jharkhand State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Chairman Justice (rtd) DP Singh revealed this while speaking at the inaugural function of two-day national seminar on ‘Rural Consumers and the Market: Issues and Challenges’ organized by National University of Study in Research and law (NUSRl), Ranchi on Friday.
“Ever since the establishment of a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission here, nearly one percent rural cases are found and around 70 to 80 percent urban cases related to violation of consumer protection laws are not filed,” he said. Justice Singh said, ‘Most of the purchasers in Jharkhand villages comprising farmers are not provided receipts by the sellers. These innocent people fail to fight for justice when they find trouble in the purchased item as they have no evidence to prove themselves. Illiteracy is the major reason for such ignorance.”
Talking to The Pioneer, he said that the State legal Services Authority is trying hard to spread awareness on consumer friendly laws through village men employed as para-legal workers. “At the national level, Jharkhand depicts a very low status on the consumer protection laws because the consumer affairs department supposed to create awareness on such laws, is working jointly with Food and Civil Supplies department, which focuses more on public distribution services than encouraging the same target audience for their rights.
The situation is opposite at our national platform as there is a specified department for consumer affairs created by the Centre,” Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) Centre for Consumer Studies Coordinator Dr Suresh Mishra told The Pioneer, tracing the fact on why Jharkhand lags behind. Jharkhand does not have its own Consumer Protection Council despite the Consumer Protection Act 1986 at the Central and State levels. “The objective of the Council as per the Act is to promote and protect the rights of the consumers,” said Dr Eqbal Hussain.