‘27 Gujarat consumer commissions have no presidents’

Ahmedabad: There are 27 consumer commissions, including the Gujarat State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, in the state are currently operating without full-time presidents.

Beyond the leadership vacuum, there are 48 vacant positions for non-govt members and 152 unfilled support staff posts across these commissions. The data, obtained from the food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs department by the NGO All India Consumer Protection and Action Committee through a Right to Information (RTI) query, highlights a severe staff crunch.

“The delay in filling these vacancies has triggered a surge in pendency and long adjournments, leaving consumers as the ultimate sufferers,” said Mukesh Parikh, president of the committee.

The staff shortage has severely bottle-necked the grievance redressal system. Out of 3.22 lakh complaints filed in district commissions since Jan 1990, 45,167 cases remain pending. At the state level, 5,847 out of 43,241 appeals and complaints are unresolved. Ahmedabad district alone accounts for 11,806 pending cases across its three consumer commissions.

Responding to the query, the department cited a Supreme Court order dated May 21, 2025, which directed the Centre to amend appointment rules within four months, and ordered state govts to complete appointments within four months of that amendment. The department stated that it intends to make the appointments.

On this, Parikh said, “However, even a year after the Supreme Court set a clear deadline, the vacancies persist and in-charge presidents continue to run operations. Keeping these sanctioned posts empty is only aggravating the problems for litigants.”