Vande Matram! In this article, I am enlisting various organisations in India which supported consumer movement in India and still working for the welfare of consumers.
What are Important Consumer Organisations in India in support of consumer movement?
Ans. Following are some of the important organisations in India that supported consumer movement in India:
1) 'Passengers and Traffic Relief Association' (PATRA) in Bombay, 1915
2) Women Graduate Union (WGU), Bombay, 1915
3) 'Triplicane Urban Co-operative Stores’ started in the late 40's in Madras and was having about 150 branches all over the city.
4) The Indian Association of Consumer (IAC), Delhi, 1956. This was an All India Association for consumer interests with the government's support. However, even IAC did not make any headway.
5) Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), Bombay was started by nine housewives in 1966 with Mrs. Leela Jog as its founder secretary. Instead of just holding conferences and meetings and asking questions like earlier consumer associations, it started testing and reporting the quality of items of daily use of foodstuffs and handling consumer complaints. It has 8 branches at various places carrying on publicity, exhibitions, and education. It publishes a magazine called 'Keemat', in English, for consumer information.
6) Karnataka Consumer Services Society (KCSS) was formed in 1970. Mrs. Mandana of KCSS spread the word of the movement throughout the country, especially among government circles at a time when the word 'consumer' was not familiar to many. It organised important seminars on consumers' education in schools and is represented on prevention of the Food and Drug Adulteration Committee and Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Corporation.
7) Visaka Consumers Council (VCC) started in 1973 in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh is another pioneering consumer organisation that has made a significant contribution to the consumer movement. It represented the plight of the poor ration card holders and LPG gas users, who had to stand in a long queue because of the irresponsible attitude of the concerned authorities. Mr. V. K. Parigi with 20 members held meetings, the survey of ration-card holders and succeeded in achieving necessary changes in the fair price shops and the public distribution system.
8) To wage a war against exploitation by the traders, some organisations came up with the novel idea of buying a quality product of everyday use at wholesale and selling these to the consumers at much lower prices than that being sold by the merchants. These are the Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) started in 1974 in Pune, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) in 1979 in Mumbai, and Grahak Panchayat in 1979 in Jamshedpur.
9) Another organisation that made a significant contribution to the cause of consumers is the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) which started in Ahmedabad in 1978. It added a new dimension to the Consumer movement with Prof. Manubhai Shah, the Managing Trustee of CERC. The organisation constantly used legal machinery to bring about changes and protect consumer rights. Its special focus and intervention are against the governments and public corporations. It has a big library, computer center, and a product testing laboratory. Recently, it has also launched a project on comparative testing in Ahmedabad where comparative testing, ranking, and evaluation of consumer products are being undertaken with the aim of publication of such findings for consumer education. To begin with, testing of food, pharmaceuticals, and domestic appliances had started. Findings will be published and Action may be initiated against unsafe products. CERC also undertakes internship training for any consumer organisation, besides routine exhibitions, seminars, and publications of the magazine 'Consumer Confrontation.'
10) 'Jagrut Grahak' in Baroda, Gujarat started in 1980 by ten retired professionals. It imparts consumer education through seminars and publications and runs a network of 45 complaint centers.
11) 'Consumers Forum' is another important organisation started in 1980 in a small form in Udupi in South Karnataka. Under the leadership of Dr. P. Narayan Rao, it succeeded in bringing relief to many aggrieved consumers, chiefly from their problems with the state bureaucrats.
12) VOICE, the voluntary organisation in the interest of consumer education, was founded by energetic young students and teachers of the Delhi University in 1983 in Delhi to fight against unfair trade practices. It gives consumers information about the benefits of shortcomings of various products and brands and enables them to make informed choices. With Dr. Shri Ram Khanna as the Managing Trustee, it has launched comparative testing. Its first attempt was directed at comparative testing of well-known brands of colour T.Vs.
13) Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) started in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in March 1984, made its impact by effectively making use of media and publicity. For example, to tackle problems of garbage, it announced prizes for a photograph depicting the biggest heap of rubbish or the biggest pothole, and these galvanised authorities into taking prompt action.
14) Consumer Action Group (CAG) founded in 1985 in Madras concerns itself with the issues of civic amenities, health, and environments. For example, shortage in Chennai and Chemical pollution in the Adyar river.
15) Mr. R. R. Dollani, an old Gandhian, started a Consumer Movement number of associations in Madras. He organised meetings and rallies on consumers’ issues and other public interest issues in various parts of the city.
16) Mr. H.D. Shourie, Director; Common Cause; Delhi, is a well-known litigant in consumer circles. This organisation has 5000 members from all over the country keeping contact with the various consumers' outfits and taking up cases on problems of electricity, hospitals, taxation, and similar issues.
17) Another consumer activist who works primarily with his pen is Mr. R. Desikan of SMN Consumer Protection Council, Madras.
18) A new impetus was given to the consumer movement with the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It applies to the whole of India except J&K. The detailed information on this act is dealt with elsewhere in this course. Here, it is sufficient to mention that this act is unique since it provides for the setting up of quasi-judicial bodies vested with jurisdiction concurrently with the established courts for redressal of consumer disputes at the district, state, and national levels. The basic objective is to provide inexpensive justice to consumers. For the enactment of this legislation, the late Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi deserves special mention from several ministries and public sector monopolies, and after vested interests; he went ahead and got the act passed.
19) In March 1990 the Federation of Consumer Organisations (FEDCOT) was established in Tamil Nadu to bring together as many consumer groups as possible in the state under one umbrella.
20) In 1992, consumer groups - of Gujarat joined hands to form a federation, Gujarat State Federation of Consumer Organisation (GUSFECO).
21) Now 9 states in the country have federations. Besides Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, they are Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh.
22) Besides, at the apex level, there are Confederation of Indian Consumer Organisation (CICO), New Delhi, formed in February 1991, and Consumer Coordination Council (CCC), New Delhi, formed in April 1992. The primary reason for forming these apex bodies is the networking of consumer groups coming together for a common cause.
Thanks
for reading and noting. Share this with all law personnel.
References:
1. UNIT 6 CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN INDIA
===================
No comments:
Post a Comment