Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions Towards Consumer Protection and Awareness among Rural People in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The Consumer Protection Act enacted in a unique and highly progressive piece of social welfare legislation can only give certain rights to the consumers, but its functioning and implementation largely depends on the awareness and efforts of the consumers themselves. The problem is more acute in the rural areas. To reach the rural consumers, it is crucial to involve the Panchayati Raj institutions in not only educating consumers but also ensuring that fake and spurious products are not promoted in the rural markets. The study aims to the rural people in aspects of creating consumer awareness and also aims to contribution towards consumer protection in Panchayati Raj institutions in Tamil Nadu. The interview schedules were prepared and collected for Panchayati Raj institutions. Rural people of selected sample of 66 villages from five districts were approached and finally 319 respondents were used for analysis. The study reveals that Panchayati Raj institutions in Tamil Nadu have been taken for minimum efforts taking by the rural consumer awareness and need to address the concerns of the rural consumers and the only way to forward is to involve the available constitutional mechanism of Panchayati Raj institutions.

Keywords: Consumer Protection, Panchayati Raj, Consumer Awareness, Rural People, Awareness

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