The Consumer Affairs Ministry said it is planning to hold Lok Adalats later this year to reduce the pendency of cases in consumer dispute redressal commissions at national, State and district levels.
As per government estimates, six lakh cases are pending in these commissions. Of the total pending cases, about 4.5 lakh cases are pending in district commissions, 1.4 lakh cases in State commissions and over 22,000 cases in National Commission, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told reporters on Wednesday.
“We have done a sector-wise analysis of the pending cases. Nearly 1.7 lakh pending cases are related to the insurance sector, over 70,000 cases are related to the banking sector and over 60,000 cases were found to be related to the housing sector. Our focus will be on speedy disposal of pending cases and therefore we are planning to organise Lok Adalats for the same,” he added.
The ministry will hold dedicated Lok Adalats to take up these pending cases and is also in discussion with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) for the disposal of pending consumer cases, Singh added.
e-daakhil
Meanwhile, the Ministry said that the e-daakhil portal has emerged as an effective solution for aggrieved consumers who opt to digitally file their complaints. Singh said, the e-daakhil portal is facilitating speedier disposal of cases and the Ministry is also now working on creating infrastructure for e-hearings as well.
The e-daakhil portal was launched by the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on September 7, 2020. It serves as a platform for consumers who are facing time constraints to contact the consumer commission for the resolution of their complaints.
A total of 23,640 complaints have been received through e-filing on e-daakhil portal in the last two years. The facility is presently functional in 33 States/UTs for respective NCDRC, State Commission, 13 Circuit Benches and 651 District Commissions, the Ministry added. About 84,957 consumers are now registered users in the e-daakhil portal and 5590 complaints have been admitted till now, it added.