Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali today said that a society which is aware of its rights helps in better execution of laws meant to serve them.The Minister expressed these views during a consumer awareness programme organized by the Directorate of FCS&CA Kashmir here at College of Education, MA Road.Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the reason to bring the new laws or to amend the old ones is to facilitate the people and to ensure that their rights and entitlements are upheld.“Government can amend an old law or it can bring in the new ones as and when required. However, the whole exercise becomes futile if the people for whom it is intended are not aware of it,” the Minister explained.Attributing the Consumer Act as a ‘beautiful and a simple act’,” the Minister said the beauty of the act is that the applicants do not have to pay the court fee or pay a hefty amount to advocates to plead their cases. The applicant simply has to write an application on a plain paper and the consumer court will take cognizance, the Minister informed. He expressed his satisfaction over the functioning of Consumer Courts and forms recently constituted by the Department. The Minister said he feels proud to inform that more than 9000 consumer cases have been resolved in various consumer forms since they came to inception.
As suggested earlier by President Divisional Consumer Form Kashmir, the Minister assured that a media cell would soon be constituted. He said the cell would regularly come out with newsletters to keep consumers aware with their rights and entitlements, new rules and regulations government is bringing in for them and the latest happenings at various consumer forums across the State.The Minister said the employees of the department need to take pride in the recent achievements they made. He said from the implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) to Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme (MMFES), and from Digitization of the department to gradual introduction of Electronic Weighing machines at food stores the department made a phenomenal job.He said whenever, people praise him, he, in turn, tell them that it is his employees who actually deserve the praise. He said now the department has reached to a certain stature, adding, maintaining the status is more important.Zulfkar Ali congratulated the Director FCS&CA Nissar Ali Wani for better understanding and efficient functioning of the department. He said the Director along with his entire team has done a phenomenal work since he took over the department.Commissioner Secretary FCS&CA M D Khan, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Syed Abid Rasheed, Director FCS&CA Kashmir Nisar Ahmad Wani, Controller LMD R K Kotch, President Divisional Consumer Form Kashmir Ashraf Malik, and other concerned were present in the function.