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----------------------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Documentation Service & circulated by Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network (GOA CAN)<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 'Involve the consumers, not a selected group' ------------------------------------------------------------ by Eusebio Carvalho
Every year on March 15, in Goa, the World Consumers Day is being celebrated in a very small room called black box at Kala Academy complex, Campal with only government employees and a few others in attendance and not with the actual consumers as required which is a total defeat not only to this day but also to the Consumers Protection Act, 1986 and the rules framed there under in 1987, in the interest of the consumers.
What are the reasons for this? There are lakh and lakh of consumers in this state and why not even a hundred of them do not participate for the above function? May be due to very poor motivation by the consumers affairs department. Why all the required ministers, heads of the department, organizations like IOC, BPC, HPC, Goa Chamber of Commerce, representatives of fish, fruit, vegetables vendors, etc, are not participating, if invited, for this very very important function? Who is to be blamed for this?
Can the consumers affairs department tell the public as to how meetings of the consumers have been organised at state, taluka and village level to educate the consumers. The poor consumers should know their rights and the consumers affairs department is the 'nerve centre' in this regard to educate the consumers of their rights and duties.
There is also a consumers council at state level constituted by the state government under Section 7 of the said act and nearly 47 eminent persons supposed to be interested in consumers related problems, are included in this council under the chairmanship of the Minister for Civil Supplies and Consumers Affairs. Can he tell how many times in a year, year-wise, this council held meetings ever since it is constituted and what are its deliberations and whether they have been complied with?
There are a number of problems faced by the consumers at taluka/village level as regards to the effective implementation of various schemes such as above poverty line, below poverty line, Antyodaya, Annapurna, LPG deliveries, telephones, housing, births/deaths registration, licensing for houses, occupancy certificates, etc, etc.
Can the department for consumers affairs provide with statistics of the cases, in connection with the above matters, detected and charge sheeted by the officials of the concerned departments/organisations, decided by the courts, with their results, year-wise, showing therein the time limit within which they are decided?
I appeal to the state government that this time and in future the above function
may be arranged in a big way involving all the above concerned authorities,
organisations, citizens, consumers, etc, etc, in a big hall and the same function
should be kept open from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. providing tea/snacks/food packets
to the participants, to enable them to put up their genuine grievances and
for an valuable interaction between consumers and the concerned
departments/organisations, in the presence of the concerned ministers,
with questions and on the spot answers.
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Personally Speaking in
The Navhind Times 3/03/03 page 3
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