New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Noting that the effective functioning of consumer courts is vital for protecting rights and upholding service standards, the government has directed states to fill vacancies of Presidents in 18 State Consumer Commissions and heads in 162 district forums, an official said on Friday.

Till October, a total of 18 posts of President and 56 posts of members were lying vacant in State Consumer Commissions. Additionally, 162 posts of President and 427 posts of members were vacant in district forums, concluded a meeting chaired by Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Nidhi Khare.

While reviewing the status of vacancies, Khare directed Principal Secretaries, Directors, and senior officials in states/Union Territories to fill up the posts on a priority, as per a statement issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

The Secretary said that it is imperative that vacancies are filled at the earliest to ensure that consumer disputes/cases are handled promptly and efficiently. Khare’s call is in line with the government’s commitment to ensure that consumer grievances are addressed swiftly, the statement said.

The meeting chaired by the Secretary involved an in-depth analysis of vacancy data across the country.

It was also noticed that the vacancies in consumer commissions have increased sizably as compared to previous years.

While referring to the enabling provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and also keeping in view the prevailing circumstances, Khare referred to the provisions of Section 32 of the Act, which allows assigning additional charges to another district consumer forum, if needed, so that the district-level mechanism to address complaints of deficiency in service remains functional.

There was a consensus at the meeting that filling up vacancies is essential to avoid delays in hearings and reduce the case backlog, which impacts consumer justice.