To mitigate the grievances of consumers and release them from the complications of lodging complaints, the Kerala State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (KSCDRC) plans to take the initiative online.
Abdulla Zona, president-in-charge of the commission, said that the proposed project would be completed within two months.
Currently, the consumers pay a heavy price for the facility. In spite of giving a court fee ranging from `100 to `500, the consumers have to pay for the stamps as well. The court fee was introduced by the government with a view to meeting the stationery expenses of the forums and the state and national commissions.
There are consumers who are not aware of the fact that they have to pay for the stamps. As a result, many complaints that are lodged do not move beyond the registry and fail to reach the commission’s headquarters. Abdulla said that the issue could be mitigated to a great extent by taking the procedure online.
As the first step, the KSCDRC has gone online. “This is the first time that such an initiative is being undertaken,” he said.
The Consumer Protection Act 1986 envisages speedy and inexpensive redressal of grievances. But owing to the complicated procedures, the aforementioned goals could not be met. “Going online will be an apt panacea in this regard,” Abdulla said.
Through the initiative, the district forums in all the districts will be linked to both the national as well as state Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. Details of each case, including the judgments, can be accessed through the facility.
The details of consumer protection rights are available on the website http://confonet.nic.in/.
“Now the details from across the state will be available on the website and the district forums of every state will be interlinked,” he said.
In courts, a time lag in addressing the consumers’ issues is faced as most of the work is done manually. Abdulla added that the procedural delay would also come to an end with this initiative.
Comments
0 comment