No work for 112 days at State Consumer Redressal Commission last year

NAINITAL

: Out of 275 working days last year, staff at the Uttarakhand State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission did not work for as many as 112 working days because of strikes by lawyers and others who are involved in resolution of disputes coming to the commission.

An

RTI

query to ascertain the number of non-working days in the body revealed that the number of such days has been on the rise year on year. In 2016, there was no work on 94 days of the year while in 2018, till February, 25 working days had not been utilized. The commission acts as a higher quasi-judicial body for all 13 district consumer forums of the state.

Nadeemuddin, a Kashipur-based activist who had filed the RTI, told TOI, “According to consumer laws, all matters should be resolved within 90 days. However, if the commission is not working for over 100 days in a year, one can imagine the state of progress of the cases."

While the main reason cited for no work was strike by lawyers — 93 days were lost because of this last year — several days were also lost because there was non-availability of members of the commission to decide the matters.

According to the RTI reply, 10 days were without work for the commission in January last year while 18 days were lost in February, seven in March, three in April , four in May, 30 in June, three each in July and August, seven in September, three in October, seven in November and 15 in December.

The RTI also found that as many as 97 matters were pending for more than seven years with the commission despite the rules clearly stipulating disposal of matters within 90 days.

When queried, Veena Sharma, member of the commission told TOI, “I have to examine all data and only then, can answer questions related to this issue. However, I assure you that the commission and its members are committed to work towards the interests of people.”

Meanwhile, residents expressed their dissatisfaction at the large number of work days being wasted. "We look up to consumer forums and the commission to guard our interests against any attempts of cheating or deceiving us. If this data is correct, it reflects a sad state of affairs," said

Sameer Sah

, a resident of Nainital.