PANAJI
Consumers in distress would have further cause for stress as the Goa State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has been severely crippled and unable to attend to complaints from consumers.
The commission has been without a president since the last 18 months and to make matters worse, only one member has been working in the commission for the last six months and this member has no power to settle the complainants of consumers.
According to sources, there are about 130 cases pending before the commission.
“The State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission President Utkarsh Bakre retired in February 2020. Since then, there has been no new appointment made and the post is vacant.”
“The term of the lady member of the commission, Vidhya Gaurav, has also been superannuated and only member who is on the commission is Dhanajay jog,” said the source.
“Getting a retired high court judge for the job is becoming difficult for the government,” the source added.
According to details, the State government had set up the Consumer Protection Act in 1986 on December 25, 1986 and under this act, one state-level consumer grievance redressal forum and two district level forums have been established.
As per the amended law implemented on July 20, 2020, only a retired high court judge can be appointed president of the State Consumer Redressal Commission. Besides, the commission should have three members, one of which should be a woman.
“Given increasing issues of consumer disputes, a full-fledged working dispute redressal system is a must,’ said the source.
