India, July 30 -- Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Tuesday approved the inclusion of banking services, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and gas supply services under the category of "public utility services", paving the way for grievances in these sectors to be taken up by permanent lok adalats, bypassing regular courts and prolonged litigation, officials aware of the matter said.

The proposal was mooted by the Delhi government's law department, due to a rise in volume of consumer disputes involving these services, including cases related to loan recovery, defaults, billing discrepancies, failed transactions and other service deficiencies, which often got stuck in prolonged litigation, they said.

"The decision is a citizen ...