Consumers act being amended: Pawar

New Delhi, Mar 16 (UNI) The Consumer Protection Act is being amended to make it more dynamic, responsive and consumer friendly as well as the number of National Commission being increased from five to nine to further strengthen it.

As a result of earlier amendments in the Act and Rules, the National Commission is now able to hold sittings in three benches and has also been holding sittings of its Circuit Benches in different cities, said Public Distributiion and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar at a meeting of presidents of State Commissions and the Secretaries In-Charge of Consumer Affairs held to observe World Consumers Day yesterday.

Mr Pawar also called upon Consumer Fora to dispose of cases on a time-bound manner.

''The need of the hour is for every Presiding Officer of the Consumer Fora to take a pledge to dispose of cases within the prescribed time norm,'' he said.

While showing satisfaction on the overall performance of the Consumer Fora, Mr Pawar shared his concern at delay in disposal of cases. ''They should provide simple, inexpensive and quick resolution of consumer disputes without having to observe the somewhat lengthy civil court procedures.'' ''An equally common criticism is that the orders of the Fora are not swift enough and they also do not hit the offenders where it hurts them most. This results in offenders not taking these Fora seriously. This detracts from the credibility of the Consumer Fora,'' he observed.

He also informed that a massive scheme for computerisation of the entire consumer grievance redressal machinery comprising the National Commission, 35 State Commission and 607 District Fora has been started. For increasing consumer awareness, the Government is supporting National Consumer Helpline, being operated through a toll free number 1800-11-4000.

A consumer anywhere in the country can ring up this number and get proper advice, and in the last two years, this Helpline has received over one lakh calls. A Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre (CORE Centre) has been set up for providing information, guidance, and online consumer complaints redressal mechanism.

Till the end of January this year, 22,000 complaints have been handled by the Core Centre, the Minister informed.

In his inaugural address, the Chief Justice of India Mr Justice K G Balakrishnan said there was need to constantly make changes in the consumer protection law in the light of fast changing economic and social realities.

President of the National Commission, Mr Justice M B Shah highlighted the role of NGOs in spreading consumer awareness. He called upon the Consumer Fora to not get bogged down in technicalities and ensure that justice is delivered equitably.

Consumer Affairs Y S Bhave, stated that the Government is supporting the consumer movement in three important areas, creating awareness about consumer rights, evolving standards and benchmarks for services and goods (such as hallmark, ISI mark) and striving to create mechanisms for swift and inexpensive grievance redressal.

The two-day conference ended today discussed wide-ranging areas relating to consumer courts, including filling up of vacancies, clearance of pendency and alternative dispute resolution through Lok Adalats. The theme of this year was, 'Empowerment of Consumers: Assert Rights, Pursue Remedies.' UNI