Question : PENDING CONSUMER CASES

(a) whether the Union Government has recently reviewed the cases pending with the Consumer Courts;

(b) if so, the details regarding the total number of complaints pending with the National Consumer Forum and the various State Consumer Fora;

(c) whether any action plan has been formulated for speedy disposal of these complaints;

(d) if so, the details thereof;

(e) if not, the reasons therefor;

(f) whether financial assistance has been provided or is proposed to be provided to the States for setting up of new Consumer Fora and strengthening of the existing ones;

(g) if so, the details of the amount allocated, State-wise;

(h) whether the Consumer Fora have since been set up by such States; and

(i) if not, the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI SHARAD PAWAR)

(a) to (i): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO
(i) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 70 FOR 28/11/2005 REGARDING PENDING CONSUMER CASES

(a) to (e): Union Government in coordination with National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and Secretaries in-charge of Consumer Affairs in States/Union Territories reviews the functioning of the consumer fora on a periodical basis.

A Statement detailing the number of cases filed/disposed off/pending in NCDRC and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (SCDRC), as reported by NCDRC, is at Annexure-I.

The following measures have been taken by the Union Government for speedy disposal of cases:


(i) In order to promote e-governance, transparency, efficiency and systematizing of working of consumer fora and also to provide time bound delivery of justice to consumers, a project for computerization and computer networking of consumer fora throughout the country has been launched in March, 2005.


(ii) The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has been amended to facilitate quicker disposal of cases.


(iii) The State Governments have been requested from time to time not to allow the consumer fora to remain non-functional as also to provide adequate facilities and ensure that amended provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are put to proper use for the benefit of consumers.

(f) to (i): As per the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the State Governments are responsible for establishment of District Fora and State Commissions. However, in order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments/UT Administrations, the Union Government released one time grants in 1995-1999 and 2004-2005 amounting to Rs. 61.80 crores and Rs. 10.20 crores respectively. The financial assistance was meant to be utilised for consumer fora already established by the State/UT Governments.

A statement giving details of the grants to the States, for strengthening of infrastructure of consumer fora, released during 1995-99 and 2004-05 is at Annexure-II.

ANNEXURE- I

Statement of cases filed/disposed of/pending in the National Commission and State Commissions

Sl. Name of Cases Cases Cases % of As On
No. State filed dispos Pend- Dis- since ed ing posal incep- of tion since incep- tion National Commission 40110 32236 7874 80.37 31.10.2005
1 Andhra Pradesh 17264 14905 2359 86.34 30.9.2005
2 A & N Islands 57 55 2 96.49 30.6.2004
3 Arunachal Pradesh 33 22 11 66.67 30.6.2005
4 Assam 1846 990 856 53.63 31.12.2004
5 Bihar 10688 6700 3988 62.69 30.6.2005
6 Chandigarh 5090 4998 92 98.19 31.10.2005
7 Chattisgarh 2547 2041 506 80.13 30.6.2005
8 D & N Haveli/Daman 11 11 0 100.00 31.12.2004
9 Delhi 23860 20282 3578 85.00 31.10.2005
10 Goa 1661 1497 164 90.13 31.10.2005
11 Gujarat 21821 18266 3555 83.71 30.6.2005
12 Haryana 27832 15846 11986 56.93 31.10.2005
13 Himachal Pradesh 4426 3768 658 85.13 30.9.2005
14 Jammu & Kashmir 4512 3981 531 88.23 31.12.2003
15 Jharkhand 2067 1752 315 84.76 30.6.2005
16 Karnataka 17251 15426 1825 89.42 31.8.2005
17 Kerala 19606 15574 4032 79.43 31.8.2005
18 Lakshadweep 12 12 0 100.00 31.10.2005
19 Madhya Pradesh 20280 18077 2203 89.14 30.6.2005
20 Maharashtra 31378 17876 13502 56.97 31.7.2005
21 Manipur 47 20 27 42.55 30.6.2003
22 Meghalaya 145 125 20 86.21 30.6.2005
23 Mizoram 92 31 61 33.70 30.9.2005
24 Nagaland 71 59 12 83.10 30.6.2005
25 Orissa 14030 7304 6726 52.06 30.9.2005
26 Pondicherry 109 80 29 73.39 31.10.2005
27 Punjab 15759 11341 4418 71.97 30.9.2005
28 Rajasthan 31371 21030 10341 67.04 30.9.2005
29 Sikkim 27 26 1 96.30 30.6.2005
30 Tamilnadu 17620 15927 1693 90.39 31.10.2005
31 Tripura 866 772 94 89.15 30.9.2005
32 Uttar Pradesh 43670 12433 31237 28.47 31.8.2005
33 Uttaranchal 2464 2097 367 85.11 30.6.2005
34 West Bengal 9126 7897 1229 86.53 30.9.2005 TOTAL 387749 273457 11429 702.52
ANNEXURE-II One-Time-Grants released to the States/UTs [Amount in Lakhs of Rupees] Name of the Amount released Amount released State/UT during 1995-1999 during 2004-2005 Andhra Pradesh 270.00 105 Arunachal Pradesh 170.00 Nil Assam 280.00 Nil Bihar 320.00 45 Jharkhand 120.00 75 Goa 70.00 Nil Gujarat 250.00 Nil Haryana 210.00 45 Himachal Pradesh. 170.00 Nil Jammu & Kashmir 70.00 Nil Karnataka 250.00 Nil Kerala 190.00 Nil Madhya Pradesh. 500.00 105 Chhattisgarh 75 Maharashtra 360.00 45 Manipur 130.00 Nil Meghalaya 120.00 Nil Mizoram 80.00 75 Nagaland 120.00 15 Orissa 180.00 270 Punjab 180.00 Nil Rajasthan 350.00 45 Sikkim 90.00 Nil Tamil Nadu 270.00 Nil Tripura 80.00 Nil Uttar Pradesh. 680.00 Nil Uttaranchal 75 West Bengal 220.00 45 A&N Island 70.00 Nil Chandigarh Adm. 60.00 Nil D&N Haveli 60.00 Nil Daman & Diu 70.00 Nil Delhi 70.00 Nil Lakhsdweep 60.00 Nil Pondicherry 60.00 Nil Total: 6180.00 1020.00