Peeved by the frequent adjournments and delay in disposing of the cases by the consumer forums, activists held an interaction programme in the city on Saturday to ensure ‘’effective functioning’’ of the Consumer Redressal Commissions.
The programme was conducted by the Mysore Grahakara Parishath (MGP) in association with Bahadur Institute of Management Studies and it was resolved to send suggestions to the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Pyiush Goyal for effective functioning of the commissions by fixing a time frame for disposal of cases besides holding the presidents of the forums accountable.
D.Anand, Chairman, Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences, said that despite education and awareness about consumerism, a majority of the people as consumers and stakeholders are not aware of their rights. He said even if there was awareness of rights, there was no information on how to go about securing it and hence the consumers suffer silently when exploited by unscrupulous businessmen or unethical trade practices.
Mr. Anand described consumerism as a reactionary protest against unscrupulous businessmen and pointed out that unless people are aware of their rights they cannot safeguard them. He said the rise of e-commerce had brought a new dimension to the issue of consumer rights and protection and hence it was imperative to be aware of rights.
Bhamy V. Shenoy, founder president of MGP, said that the consumer activism was plagued by public apathy and indifference and said that the functioning of the consumer redressal commissions cannot be improved unless the general public, who are the stakeholders, seek change. One could start by calling for a halt to the practice of endless adjournments of cases for no valid reasons as a result of which the cases tend to drag indefinitely, he said.
Mr.Shenoy said that consumer redressal commissions are also embroiled in a maze of procedures none of which is necessary but is only complicating the commoners from seeking justice. One need to file a complaint in an ordinary piece of paper and it should suffice for a case to be registered and heard, said Mr.Shenoy.
Shekar S.Iyer, a consumer activist and member of MGP, described his experience of filing a case for sale of a defective product or in case of a private hospital where there was deficient service apart from securing compensation from Msore City Corporation levying excess bill for water supply.
The organisers said one of the objectives of holding the programme was to provide a platform for such consumers who had faced problems with consumer courts and to share their experience with others so that it could be conveyed to the government seeking to streamline the functioning of the consumer commission.
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