To speed up redressal of consumer grievances, the Centre has asked state governments to expedite filling up of 280 vacant posts in consumer disputes redressal commissions.

“There are 42 posts of President and 238 posts of Members lying vacant in the various district fora across the states. You could kindly take up this issue,” Food and Consumer Affairs Minister, Mr K V Thomas, said in a letter to the chief ministers.

The delay in filling up of the vacant posts has resulted in consumers waiting for a long time to get their grievances redressed, he said.

The Centre may have to intervene if the state governments fail to fill up the vacant posts, he noted and said that a Parliamentary panel had suggested that state governments be given a three months time to speed up the hiring process.

The Consumer Protection Act duly provides for a fair settlement of genuine grievances of consumers relating to the performance, quality, etc., of the goods and services.

The Government has also set up a proper mechanism for their redressal at district, state and national levels.

However, consumer fora in some states remain ineffective vehicles in the absence of sufficient manpower.

Stressing on hiring quality people, Mr Thomas said, “The states are paying a meagre sum as honorarium for a full-time job. This has resulted in qualified persons not applying for such posts.”

However, some state governments such as Kerala and West Bengal had revised the salary structure to hike quality people, he added.

The Minister also pointed out that there was “unnecessary restriction” on lawyers, appointed as President and Members of State Commission and district fora, as they were debarred from practicing in lower courts after the tenure of five years. He asked the state governments look into this issue and “if possible they could be considered for appointment for another term of five years based on their performance record.”

comment COMMENT NOW