Goa Consumer Action Network Launches Extensive Consumer Rights Awareness Drive
In a significant move to empower consumers, the Goa Consumer Action Network (Goacan) has announced a comprehensive two-month awareness campaign as part of World Consumer Rights Day observances. The initiative, themed "Safe Products, Confident Consumers," will span from February 22 to April 22, 2024, targeting five key talukas across the state: Bardez, Mormugao, Salcete, Tiswadi, and Ponda.
Comprehensive Coverage of Consumer Protection Laws
The awareness drive will extensively educate consumers about their rights under several crucial legislative frameworks. These include the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which provides robust mechanisms for grievance redressal; the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, ensuring fair trade practices; the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, safeguarding food quality; and the BIS Act, 2016, which governs product standards and certification.
Innovative "Spot the Deficiency" Activity
A highlight of the campaign will be a special interactive activity titled "Spot the Deficiency, Identify the Official, Pursue the Remedy." This program will actively involve volunteers from village consumer forums and campus consumer welfare clubs, engaging them in practical exercises to recognize consumer rights violations and understand the appropriate channels for resolution.
Multi-Faceted Awareness Actions
Goacan activists will undertake a variety of proactive measures to maximize outreach and impact. These include conducting awareness sessions, leading delegations to government offices, submitting memoranda to relevant departments, participating in enforcement raids with authorities, attending official meetings, performing surprise checks on service providers, and organizing extensive customer outreach programs across the talukas.
Focus on Essential Service Redressal
The NGO will place particular emphasis on consumers' right to seek redressal in critical service areas. These encompass post office services, banking operations, mobile and landline telecommunications, LPG supply systems, electricity distribution, GST-related issues, bus transport services, and public toilet facilities. By targeting these essential services, the campaign aims to address common consumer grievances that affect daily life.
Promoting Complaint Helplines and Redressal Agencies
A special component of the drive will be raising awareness about available complaint mechanisms and redressal agencies. Consumers will be educated on how to access and utilize helplines, as well as navigate formal redressal bodies such as the consumer conciliation committee, the district consumer disputes redressal commission, and the state consumer disputes redressal commission. This knowledge empowerment is designed to make consumers more confident in pursuing legitimate complaints.
The initiative represents a concerted effort to build a more informed and assertive consumer base in Goa, ensuring that rights are not just theoretical but practically enforceable through proper channels and awareness.
