Will Telangana consumer body turn toothless again?

HYDERABAD: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission runs the risk of becoming dysfunctional the way it did in 2014 when it had no president and two members for a period of over a year and no cases were heard.

In a similar scenario, the president and a member (male) are set to retire by mid-June, when the commission resumes functioning after the summer break but the state government is yet to initiate the process of recruiting their substitutes. Surprisingly, in the four years since the state's formation no woman has been appointed to the commission as a member. "A notification to appoint a female member was given two years ago but no action has been taken in that regard till now," officials said.

V Gouri Sankar Rao, president, Confederation of All Telangana Consumer Organisations (CATCO), said that the process to recruit members is elaborate. "First, the vacancy should be notified and then a test conducted before a member is appointed. Even that process has not begun," he said.

According to the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the president of the state commission is appointed by the chief justice of High Court.

Shortage of staff at the state commission has always been a matter of concern as hearing of cases is often delayed.

As a matter of fact, the commission receives only about five complaints every month. Many people attribute this to delay in hearing cases. Similarly, the number of 'parties-in-person' or the consumers arguing their own cases is at a staggering low _ about 50 to 70 a year.

"The inefficiency of the state commission has made me wait for over nine years now to get my complaint addressed," said a 70-year-old consumer, requesting anonymity. He has been arguing his own case about the deficiency of services by the Prestige group and has also sent complaints to the commissioner of consumer affairs, Telangana about the lackadaisical attitude of the state commission towards consumers.

With the president and a member on the verge of retirement and the summer vacation looming near _ the commission's vacation depends on the High Court's functioning _ the pendency of cases is set to grow again.

Commission officials say that applications for selection of new members have been pending for clearance by the government.