11 district forums headless in Punjab, complaints piling up

Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, February 5

Rights of consumers in Punjab have gone for a toss with 11 district consumer disputes redressal forums headless for the past several months. As a result, consumer complaints have been piling up while defaulting parties — banks, insurance companies and other service providers — have exploited the situation to the hilt.

In a representation to the CM, consumer rights activist and former president of the District Bar Association Harjot Singh has pointed out that consumer disputes redressal forums at Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Mansa, Gurdaspur, Barnala, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib have remained headless despite a selection committee having sent its recommendations to the government on December 23, 2019.

“In the absence of presiding officers, complaints of consumers are not being addressed. On the other hand, malpractices in the real estate, banking and insurance sectors as well as government institutions, including the Ludhiana Improvement Trust and GLADA, have been on the rise,” he claimed.

It is learnt that the selection committee of the Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had sent a list of 11 persons to be appointed as District Forum presidents. Talking to The Tribune, Punjab Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Bharat Bhushan Ashu said the government was seized of the matter.