JMGSS is the distribution wing that handles procurement and supply of household needs. It is the executive arm of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) formed in 1981. Consumers save between 15 and 20% as the JMGSS works within a ceiling of 6% over wholesale prices. Call it consumer response to business cartels.

This piece is presented with permission from www.goodnewsindia.com

Every month, 20,000 families in and around greater Mumbai receive their household essentials at their doorsteps. It's a clockwork operation. In each family carton is the newsletter "Grahak" educating them about consumer, health, legal and environmental issues. Member families save money, are relieved of shopping chores and can be certain that what is sent to them is of the best quality. And increasingly they know that though they may be of modest economic means, they are empowered beings. They are members of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (Mumbai Consumer Forum), a respected activist group.

Until twenty years ago India was a land of shortages brought on by a closed-door policy. In the early seventies you needed 'contacts' and influence to get your monthly rations. Just before festivals all commodities would disappear. Traders made huge profits from their hoards.

In Pune of 1974 a young man, Bindu Madhav Joshi was witness to a mob setting fire to hoarders' warehouses. He teamed with noted musician Sudhir Phadke to found what has become a robust consumer organisation. Nearby, in Mumbai another young man, Madhu Mantri organised consumers to sit-in and observe a fast. Someone brought news of a huge hoard of edible oils. Mantri led the protesters to the warehouse and with police help, began to sell the stock to the public at a fair price, the hoarders given the proceeds. The sale went on all night.

It was obvious that consumers lacked a forum. Joshi and Phadke began to organise buying groups in Pune in order to marshal their collective power. Joshi, Phadke and Mantri eventually met up in Mumbai and began planning buying groups there. In April 1975 they had a structure that went by the rather long name – Janata Madhyavarti Grahak Sahakari Sangh Maryadit, Mumbai (JMGSS) or, Middle Income Consumer Assistance Association.

JMGSS is the distribution wing that handles procurement and supply of household needs. It is the executive arm of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) formed in 1981. The basic idea of course is 'economy of scale'. As consumers pay in advance no capital is invested and no stock is maintained. As purchases are made from the producer end of the supply chain most middlemen are eliminated. Governed by volunteers supervising a minimal staff, overheads are low, quality awareness high and sweep of initiatives broad.

Consumers save between 15 and 20% as the JMGSS works within a ceiling of 6% over wholesale prices. Member families pay Rs.72 per year as member-ship fees. Among these families, over 1200 have very low incomes. Membership is growing most rapidly among this category. The volume of annual business is Rs.140 million.

Several times during the year, bargain sale meets are organised. Before festivals, before school-reopening, during vacations, well chosen products are sold at these plazas at low prices. Merchants of course are carefully vetted before they can set shop.

There is a central Purchase Committee with 13 women volunteers who co-ordinate with a professional Purchase Manager. In search of quality products at low prices, these members often travel long distances to meet producers or wholesalers, evaluate their produce and finalize prices. Rice is procured from Punjab, wheat from Gondal in Madhya Pradesh, turmeric from Sangli, chili from Sakleswar and household linen from Solapur and Aurangabad. Minor reprocessing like grinding and mixing is often done to prevent adulteration.
Only produce of Indian companies is purchased. Often they groom cottage industries to supply them regularly with quality products. For example "Shudh" is a detergent supplied by a small scale producer. Goods are bought from Anandavan, a leper resettlement programme run by Baba Amte. "Tungi" is the brand for pickles and jams made by Adivasis near Karjat.

Members are coerced actively to change their consuming habits. For instance it was found that the golden yellow jaggery was processed with harmful chemicals. It took a lot of education to make families switch to the black coloured natural jaggery. Individual consumers have no choice: they must select from a list of about 60 pre-determined items that have survived MGP's critical stare. The logic behind 'no-choice' is that even if a consumer is presented with a wide choice he may not always make the right decision. The monthly newsletter is full of sound advise and change advocacy. Therefore a member voluntarily suspends his individual 'right to choose'. Call it consumer response to business cartels.

MGP constantly raises consumer awareness. It has a series of publications. One of them is a detailed guide to how consumers with complaints should go about seeking redressal. Another is on the impact of food advertisements on children. Paper and cloth bags are extensively used for deliveries. Estimates are, they avoid using over half a million plastic bags per year. They campaign in favour of breast-feeding, against arbitrary price rises and so on.

When needed MGP wages war. The most celebrated of course is the one where they humbled a two-wheeler maker. Then there was the case against the Aarey Milk Dairy in Worli which was found to be using Irish butter contaminated by radio activity. MGP exploded with posters, articles and door to door campaign. The government dairy backed off. It has intervened in a case of negligent medical assistance, death of a housewife by cooking gas leakage, loss of an academic year to a girl because of delayed announcement of results, selling of rejected drugs by Glaxo into the black market... the list goes on.

MGP is today a member of the International Consumer Union, but it is entirely a homegrown institution not depending on anything overseas. MGP has proved you can thrive without government help; in fact, you can take on the government and still thrive. MGP is a model that is waiting to be replicated in an increasingly urbanising India.

There are three reasons for MGP's success. First Maharashtra is a leader among Indian states in producing volunteer activists in all layers of its society. The second reason is that high-rise dwellings of Mumbai foster the creation of buyer groups. Organising families and distribution of goods would be easy in such a city. Finally, a consumer activist group built on a goods distribution service sustains continuity. Normally, groups come together for a cause and then disband. For a free-for-all society like India, where issues constantly need to be addressed, stable, growing groups are essential. The Mumbai Grahak Panchayat may have created a template that can travel. Its success is of great importance to the future of a democratic India. A time will come when MGP clones will spring up everywhere.
Mumbai Grahak Panchayat
Grahak Bhavan
Sant Dhyaneshwar Marg
Vile Parle [West]
Mumbai 400 056
Phone: [022] 6288624
eMail: mgp@bom5.vsnl.net.in - mgpanchayat@hotmail.com