Coimbatore: Now that the district consumer disputes redressal forum has become the redressal commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, consumers could approach it with disputes on goods and services involving a monetary value ofup to Rs 1 crore. While welcoming the move, activists and consumers have raised concerns over increased workload on the commission and delay in litigation settlement in the absence of sufficient infrastructure.
A source with the district consumer disputes redressal commission said, “Earlier, the forum used to deal with disputes involving a monetary value of just up to Rs 20 lakh. Even then, we were struggling to dispose cases fast owing to manpower shortage and failure of advocates to appear before the court for their clients. Now that the monetary cap limit has increased, the number of cases is expected to double.”
According to him, they used to get 40 cases a month on an average. ‘There are more than 1,000 pending cases, some of which were filed way back in 2010. To ensure speedy disposal of cases, the forum president had been hearing about 70 cases a day. However, a case could be heard only once in 40 days. On an average, it takes up to two years to deliver a verdict in a case.” The forum has a president, two members and 10 staff.
Until recently, the forum could handle disputes regarding the products and services that were availed in its jurisdiction. Now, it could handle disputes on products and services that were availed elsewhere, provided the complainant is residing or working in its jurisdiction.
K Kathirmathiyon, secretary, Coimbatore Consumer Cause, said the move would only burden the officials and affect the public if the manpower was not increased. “With the existing staff, the commission is already struggling. If the cases increase, the judgement will be delayed further and it would affect the consumers.” Pointing out that there are provisions to establish more than one commission in a district, he said the government should take steps to set up another redressal commission in the district to ensure quick disposal of cases.