New Delhi: Lieutenant governor VK Saxena gave his approval on Tuesday to include banking, non-banking financial companies and gas supply services as public utilities for the “swift resolution” of disputes through permanent Lok Adalats.According to an official, a proposal to this effect was sent by Delhi govt’s law department, citing an increasing volume of disputes pertaining to banking and other financial institutions and the supply of gas services in the city. The move, said officials, was expected to provide “faster, more equitable and efficient” legal redressal for a large segment of the population dealing with common service-related grievances.Three permanent Lok Adalats are currently functional in Delhi for the resolution of electricity-related disputes involving the private Discoms. Delhi State Legal Services Authority is also in the process of setting up another permanent Lok Adalat to cater to other public utility services that include transport, postal and telecom, water supply, public sanitation, health and insurance.“The law department’s proposal pointed out that a large number of disputes related to loans, financial recovery, savings and investments, service deficiencies and billing issues in banking and non-banking financial sectors could be effectively and expeditiously resolved outside conventional courts if these three services were notified as public utility services,” LG’s office stated. “Such inclusion would empower the permanent Lok Adalats to take up these matters, reduce the burden on regular courts, and provide accessible, low-cost and time-bound legal remedies to the public,” it added.The proposal stated that these three services were closely aligned with the characteristics of public utility services. Given the increasing volume of disputes and cases in these sectors, there was a pressing need to ensure expeditious, cost-effective and amicable resolution of such matters. Further, disputes related to these services often involved people who could not afford prolonged litigation and, therefore, the permanent Lok Adalats could provide a simplified and affordable alternative for resolving such disputes.