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- 25thYear of service through the net
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Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela- Serving the consumers for over 38 yrs.
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Tinker with the Act & destroy the movement


District Forums can adjudicate telecom consumer disputes

 


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OUT OF THE BOX


Gist of Cases Pursued


Review Petition-SC



Supreme Court Order in LPG Case

 
 

Major Events


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APPEAL


Text of CPC's appeal in the Supreme Court in
LPG short-filling case
 

LPG case - NCDRC verdict
 

LPG case - NCDRC's Review Order
 

Council's Review
 
 

Indane bottling 
 -IITK Report

Committee Report on 
short-filling of LPG


Complaint Petition - Indane short-filling 

 
 

Eliminate UTPs
   

Sample 
Complaint Petition
 
 
 

Abdul Kalam's Message
 

FAQs
 

Membership
 

Donation
 

RBI 's guidelines 
on Credit Card
 

CP Act
 

FAQs on Elec.
Reforms in Orissa
 

22nd Annual Report
 

Committee for LPG short-filling
 

Your Page
 

Hurrah for the consumer? -A.Dharker
 

The last letter from the veteran
 

Message of Justice Wadhwa
 
 

Awarded Paintings-2
Awarded Paintings
 
 

LG Case
 
 

Plg Comn. Meet

               

Watch
- Consumer Awareness Videos!


        
Department of Consumer Affairs, Govt. of India, in the interest of spreading consumer awareness has embarked on a project to produce and circulate consumer awareness videos, every week, commencing from 11/08/2023, through Google Drive.  The link for these consumer awareness videos, are given below:  (Watch the videos and share it, in larger interests.)

1)  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Qh17l7egvdUI7B7Cs0uI-Q9v64PT3gPN?usp=sharing
Government Agencies are becoming
social media savvy!


   
 It is indeed heartening to note that the Government agencies have become more social media active and are even picking up the citizens' voice.  In a recent incident, a journalist Mr. Saha, who was travelling by train no. 12312, Netaji Express (on 13th Jan. 2023), from Ghaziabad to Howrah, could get back a nominal Rs. 10/-, from the tea vendor, after he tweeted his grievance that the tea vendor had not returned Rs. 10/- after having taken Rs. 20/- from him, in spite of reminding him.  It is stated that while the incident took place near Prayagraj Station, he was refunded the money by a Manager of IRCTC and the dishonest vendor was also relieved of his duties, then and there.  One tweet to @IRCTCofficial could result in such a positive response, within a short duration is indeed great! 
      Kudos to the Indian Railway administration and the Government of India.


KIND ATTENTION PLEASE!!
For the benefit of readers, we have provided below the links for our monthly newsletter Advantage Consumer, which can be utilised Free of Cost.
Short weighment is a major issue faced while doing online shopping
for fruits and vegetables.

                                                                                                                                            -  B.Vaidyanathan

   
These days, especially in metro cities, households are accustomed to doing online shopping, even for fruits and vegetables.  This has become the norm since the second quarter of 2021, after the Covid pandemic necessitated minimising exposure to crowded markets, shopping malls, etc.   Online portals like Big Basket saw a big surge in demand and customers at that time had to wait for even a couple of days to get a delivery slot.  Many established online shopping portals like Flipkart, Amazon jumped the bandwagon of online supply of Fruits and Vegetables.  Already Flipkart has reduced its business in this area (christened as Flipkart Quick), for reasons which are not clear. In Chennai, one stopped seeing the “Flipkart Quick”, since Oct. 2022. Amazon is marketing fruits and vegetables under its banner “Fresh”. 

    More choice means higher competition and is no doubt welcome for an ordinary consumer and it is a dream come true, and he is the king in the marketplace.  But only an aware and equipped consumer can dictate his terms, and must be willing to do the homework, rather than getting carried away by the glitter and attractive enticements that are on offer.

                                                                       
      Pic.-1 (Red Bananas)                                Pic.-2 (Karpooravalli Bananas)
   
   
The case in point is that even the established brands noted as above are having issues while doing retail sales.  There are basically 3 issues affecting the consumers at large.  First and foremost is the pricing.  Since, pricing is being publicised and readily available while ordering, the consumer is well informed, and hence it is up to him to purchase or not, as random cross checking with the wholesale prices, available in the media will enable him to evaluate whether what is being charged is fair or not. 
       
    Second issue and an important one is the quality of the stuff supplied and its packing.  If one is a regular shopper, he will be able to assess the same, after a couple of orders.  Incidentally, as this author has experienced, while some items are more or less good with different sellers, some or not the same. 

    In this digital era, an historical issue is astonishingly, is still a major issue, which these renowned companies are still unable to take care.  They are still having difficulties in supplying these perishable commodities as invoiced/billed.  To their credit, they are promptly refunding the full cost of the billed item.  But how many are having the time or wherewithal to weigh each item that are supplied.  Pic.-1 shows the “Red Bananas” supplied by Big Basket. As per their variable weight policy, they billed the same as 1.18 kg, whereas the actual was only 1.15 kg (1.146 kg).  They refunded the cost of the entire quantity of bananas billed.  That demonstrates their honesty.  But how many individuals would have made such a claim is a pertinent question to ponder.

    Similar issue was there with the item supplied by Amazon (Pic.-2 Karpooravalli Bananas).  As against 500 gm that was billed, supplied only 429 gm.  On complaining about that variation, they promptly refunded the cost of the entire quantity of bananas billed.  I have stated the above two as examples, for demonstrating the malady.

    It is no surprise then, that I could realise the entire cost of the digital weighing machine, within 45 days.


    It is time to ponder for all the Companies, as to how to enhance the culture of the people at large, to make them more trustworthy in whatever they do?  Having potential is one thing, but working as per that potential is another thing.¤

Consumers will be better protected - Narendra Modi

Software can only deliver, if the hardware is also good

A letter to the PM, Sri Narendra Modi

Supreme and fallible - Right to blunder?

Boot out the MNCs - How dare they do business in India!!

Arnab, et al!  There are many more vital things other than Sushma bashing 

"Jago Grahak Jago"

Let the consumer be doomed

Employees are entitled to benefit of two years weightage under the EPS

Don't Disturb - Justice is not Supreme

Supreme Court fails to uphold the law
Some suggestions to Chief Justice of India -  Is it that the Laws & Rules need to remain only on paper?
Unprincipled Amendments to Consumer Protection Act


A big question mark about the relevance of the judiciary in safeguarding the consumer
(Council's Curative Petition dismissed)

  In India, consumers have been at the receiving end since long.  One thought that things will change for the better after the Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 1986 and a structured approach was adopted to promote and safeguard the interests of the consumers.  But after 2004, things have gone from bad to worse.  Commencing from the castration of the Central Consumer Protection Council, the relevance of the consumer Act itself has been brought into question.  If the government is found wanting and none too serious to strengthen this voluntary initiative of the individuals to do their bit for a healthy society, which in any case is bound to benefit the industry, its competitiveness and the country as a whole, myopic approach only appear to rule the roost, as on date.

  Important amendments which were brought in 2003 to the Consumer Protection Act, with a clear objective of penalising Unfair Trade Practices and to compensate the consumer/litigant adequately have been frustrated by the indifferent approach of the National Commission as well as the Supreme Court.  That is why, giving the benefit of doubt to the bench which did not do justice to the issues placed before it by Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela, and to take the issues pursued by it to the logical end, Curative Petition was filed.  The GROUNDS categorically illustrate the denial of Natural Justice to the Petitioner Council and the failure of the Court in addressing the issues raised in the Appeal.  Rupa Ashok Hurra case specifically has laid Violation of Principles of Natural justice as the valid ground for considering a Curative Petition.  Question is whether a narrow view of non-issue of notice alone should be taken as the requisite ground for allowing the Appeal or blatant denial to consider the Grounds of Appeal by the concerned bench should be treated alike, in the larger interests of justice?  If this anomaly is not addressed, Curative Petitions will only be found useful when the media start highlighting an issue, like the LGBT case leading to the strength of the population deciding the outcome of the Curative Petition.  This does not augur well for a civilized democratic country.

  Learned ex-Justice of Gujarat & Rajasthan High Courts, Sri M.R.Calla, and designated Sr. Advocate of the Supreme Court had unequivocally advocated for allowing the Curative Petition of the Council, pointing out the gross miscarriage of justice and denial of natural justice.  But that has not appealed to the Supreme Court bench headed by the CJI, who have dismissed the Curative Petition, as per the Order made available on the internet today. 

  Something needs to be done to address and to save the people from this hyper-technical approach of the Supreme Court and to promote the consumer movement, which is after all in the best interests of the nation.  Will Shri Narendra Modi and his government do something to stem this rot?

**************


How can the Supreme Court pass an irrelevant order?

'Consumer justice is your right'

Fleece the consumer and go scot-free

Finish the consumer movement?
www.moneylife.in/finish-the-consumer-movement

Almost all the LPG bottling plants have been modernised
 

CPC, Rourkela celebrates its Silver Jubilee
 

Silver Jubilee of the Consumer Protection Act celebrated
 

Union Minister feels that self regulation has failed to control unethical advertisements
 

Dr. Kalam calls upon the nation to work towards elimination of spurious drugs



Consumer groups hold consultations to tackle spurious drugs
 

Consultations on FDI in Retail held
 

New legislation for curbing misleading advertisements opposed

13th SCPC Meeting held at Bhubaneswar
 

Workshop recommends amendments to CP Act
 

Seminar on Effective Grievance Redressal in Telecom Sector, held in Agartala
 

Consumer Courts can adjudicate telecom disputes
 

Complaint Page with new additions
 

RBI's notification on Credit Card

  A consumer organisation with a difference Instead of rendering advisory services alone, the Council since its inception, in 1985, has been taking up issues affecting them through the consumer courts and other means and feels proud to have provided relief to crores of people.  These include:

  • Remedial action against short filling of LPG in cooking gas refills; of the 184 LPG Bottling Plants, of the three Oil Marketing Companies (IOC, BP & HP), only 4 remain to be automated.  Even these will be modernised within the next financial year 2013-14).  The quantified loss of nearly Rs. 750 crores per year to the consumers across the country has been taken care by this upgradation.  Thanks to the Council's Original Petition initiatied in 2001, before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
  • Won an important case against the Rourkela Development Authority and secured financial relief for a group of individuals, against violation of Plan & Specifications in the construction of the houses and delay in handing over the possession.
  • Obtained a separate District Forum for Rourkela, though it is not the district headquarters, which otherwise necessitated the entire Rourkela population to approach the Forum, situated at Sundergarh, a place 100 km away;
  • Re-routing of Dhanbad-Alleppey Express train through Chennai Central;
  • Campaigned against non transferring of excise duty concessions (to the consumers) extended by the union government to the industry;
  • Better upkeep of the railway coaches of Utkal Kalinga Express and other trains;
  • Reintroduction AC Chair Car in Ispat Express;
  • Refunding of booking advance by M/s APSL and M/s LML; and many more. 
  It will not be an exaggeration to add that its activities have added to the confidence of the Rourkela population, against unethical business practices.

  The fifth Voluntary Consumer Organisation in the country to have set up a Consumer Information Centre, with the support of Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Govt. of India. Has earned a niche for creating consumer awareness and handling of individual as well as group/class grievances. It is bringing out an English monthly Advantage Consumer, to educate the consumers. It is represented in various Advisory bodies.

An Aware Consumer is an Asset to the Nation

  Through this site effort will be made to disseminate all relevant information and answers to many of the queries which are frequently asked. Knowledge is power and ignorance is the root cause of all exploitation. As a consumer, we hope you will find the site quite useful. Since ours is a voluntary organisation with meagre resources we have designed the site on our own and are sure there will be lot of scope to improve. As such we invite the public and the visitors to this site to communicate their valuable feedback, so that we may improve the contents of this site. 

  Lots & Lots of information in store for you to tap, in the Information Section.  Why wait to click on Information.

  If you are keen to support the Council, you may send in your donations through crossed Cheques/Demand Drafts, drawn in favour of "Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela". All donations to the Council are exempted under sec. 80G of the Income Tax Act. The Council is also registered under the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act).



   

Read Advantage Consumer, monthly newsletter of Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela.

Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela
Chief Mentor: vaidya@advantageconsumer.com