Manju Das had never imagined that a sari could be the cause of marital discord. Ironically, that is exactly what happened to her when she wore the “defective” benarasi at her wedding reception. Her mother- in-law was furious. “How can a new wedding sari have holes in it,” she asked indignantly at the crowded reception, much to the embarrassment of Manju’s family.

The very next day, the harried father rushed to the sari shop in Burra Buzar in central Calcutta, from which he had bought the sari, and pleaded with the owner to replace it. But he was told curtly: a sari once sold was never replaced. If he had to check for defects, he should have done that before he made the purchase. Dejected, Das left.

Manju’s mother-in-law, however, refused to buy that story. Within a week of her marriage, the new bride was asked to return to her father's home, along with the sari. It was then that her father approached the state consumer affairs department on the advice of a friend.

“We immediately wrote a letter to the shop owner, asking him to meet us at once,” recalls Purnananda Mukherjee, director of consumer affairs and fair business practices. The store owner virtually came running and it was only a matter of days before the defective sari was replaced and Manju was reunited with her husband.

At a time when consumer courts are inundated with complaints ? leading to long delays in disposing of cases ? aggrieved consumers can turn to at least one agency: the West Bengal consumer affairs department. Any consumer who feels that he has been short changed can send complaints ? with copies of supporting documents ? to any of the department’s 18 offices (in different districts) and five in Calcutta.

State consumer affairs minister Naren Dey says that his department intervenes whenever there is a prima facie case. “We usually call both the aggrieved and the opposite parties and try to mediate a settlement. Sometimes the issue is sorted out in a day. At other times, it takes several sittings to sort out the problem,” he says.

But in the end, the department often manages to bring about a rapprochement, to the satisfaction of consumers. Of the 4,522 complaints that the state consumer affairs department has received since July 31, 2002 ? when it opened its grievance cells ? the department has resolved 1,687 disputes and is mediating in another 1,322 cases. The rest of the cases could not be resolved because “either they did not have merit or both sides disagreed on the settlement we suggested”, the director says.

A few years ago, Shashi Bhagwat of Baguihati paid Rs 3 lakh to an area promoter for an apartment that was never built. The promoter, however, refused to return the money to him ? until Bhagwat lodged a complaint with the government department. After a few weeks, the promoter paid back Rs 3.45 lakh (along with Rs 45,000 as interest) to Bhagwat.

Mrinal Kanti Manna of Ramcharan Seth Road in Howrah got a jolt when a private hospital in Calcutta slapped on him an “excess” bill ? amounting to Rs 1.35 lakh ? for a bypass operation. The man who had already paid the amount pleaded with the hospital authorities to check and “correct” the bill.

But all they did was to threaten him with legal action if he did not cough up the money. The matter was, however, settled when the consumer affairs department took up the case and contacted the hospital authorities.

Evidently, it’s good news for the consumers, especially when the distinction between a civil court and a consumer court is blurring fast, with huge backlogs reported from the district and state consumer redressal forums. The Consumer Protection Act of 1986 stipulates that a simple dispute is to be settled within 90 days of filing a complaint, while a dispute requiring laboratory tests or expert opinion must be resolved within 150 days. In reality, the minister says, only 25 per cent of the cases are settled in consumer courts within the stipulated time.

Prabir Basu, working president of the Bengal Federation of Consumer Organisations, says the only way to clear the backlog is to create more benches and expand their capacities. “The situation in Calcutta has somewhat improved after a second bench was set up in the state consumer redressal commission last year,” he says. Meanwhile, consumers who have benefited from filing petitions with the consumer affairs department swear by its efficacy. Some of them have even written letters of appreciation to the government department.

Mohammad Mujit Ali Mollah of Chinapukur village in South 24 Parganas district was heartbroken when the fertiliser he used for his guava orchard wrecked it. He approached the company for compensation. In return, he was rebuffed. Things took a dramatic turn when the department took up its case. He was paid Rs 2 lakh as compensation to start anew.

Call it governmental activism, if you will.

(Some names have been changed)

contact zone

nFax your complaints to 2252-1409 or call up 2252-0129 in Calcutta.

nE-mail your grievances to cafbpwb@dataone.in or cafbpwb@vsnl.net.

nMake sure you send photocopies of supporting documents to substantiate your claim.