A total of 182 cases were settled and Rs 7.83 crore compensation was awarded during the National Lok Adalat organised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Legal Services Committee on Saturday as part of the nationwide initiative of the National Legal Services Authority to promote amicable dispute resolution and reduce pendency.According to the figures released by the High Court Legal Services Committee, 430 cases were placed before five Lok Adalat Benches constituted at the Punjab and Haryana High Court for settlement through mutual consent. Out of these, 182 matters were successfully resolved during the proceedings.The settled matters largely comprised motor accident claim cases.The Lok Adalat proceedings were held under the overall supervision of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Patron-in-Chief of the High Court Legal Services Committee, and Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu, Chairman of the Committee.The five Benches constituted for the National Lok Adalat were headed by Justice Sandeep Moudgil, Justice Alok Jain, Justice Sudeepti Sharma, Justice Rohit Kapoor and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri.The National Lok Adalat is conducted periodically across the country by NALSA to encourage settlement of disputes through alternative mechanisms and to reduce the burden of prolonged litigation on courts. Such proceedings provide litigants an opportunity to resolve disputes in a less adversarial and time-efficient manner.The High Court Legal Services Committee expressed gratitude to judges, members of the Bar, litigants and court staff for the smooth conduct of the National Lok Adalat proceedings.Swati Sehgal, Secretary, High Court Legal Services Committee, said efforts would be made to identify more cases for future Lok Adalats to facilitate a larger number of settlements through mutual resolution.