New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has brought down consumer court cases by 46 per cent under a focused, mission-mode drive aimed at reducing litigation and ensuring faster resolution of pending cases across legal forums, it was announced on Tuesday.

Moreover, EPFO launched a dedicated drive for disposal of cases pending before consumer courts under the “Nidhi Aapke Nikat (NAN)” programme, where cases were identified in advance and taken up for expedited resolution.

As a result, consumer court pendency declined from 4,936 as of 1 April 2024 to 2,646 as of 31 March 2026, a reduction of 2,290 cases or 46.39 per cent.

The organisation said it is also proactively identifying pending cases and reaching out to citizens through the NAN programme to enable faster grievance redressal.

Overall litigation pendency has also come down, with total cases reducing from 31,036 as on 1 April 2025 to 27,639 as on 1 April 2026, a decline of 3,397 cases, marking the lowest-ever level of pendency in EPFO.

Special emphasis on long-pending cases has also yielded results, with cases pending for more than 10 years falling from 8,539 to 4,665, a reduction of 3,874 cases or 45.4 per cent.

In another initiative, EPFO conducted a nationwide special campaign during February–March 2026 for cases pending before Central Government Industrial Tribunals (CGITs), focusing on disputes related to interest payable by employers on delayed remittances under the EPF & MP Act, 1952.

Zone-wise nodal officers were appointed to coordinate with stakeholders and tribunals.

The campaign resulted in disposal of 353 appeals, while efforts are underway for disposal of another 650 cases.

Earlier in April, the EPFO recorded its highest-ever claim settlements in the financial year 2025–26. According to official data, it settled 8.31 crore claims during 2025–26, a significant jump from 6.01 crore claims in FY 2024–25.

–IANS

ag/