BMC staff put the squeeze on PF

Express News Service

MUMBAI, February 26: Austerity measures are all very well, given the civic administration's near-penury. But with the civic authorities now threatening to reach for its employees' pockets to bridge the ever-widening budget deficit, the latter are bordering on the hysterical.The Mayor-in-Council's green signal to the administration's proposal to withdraw Rs 350 crore from the Provident Fund (PF) account has sent ripples of panic through the 1.4 lakh-strong workforce, with hundreds of employees seeking the administration's permission to withdraw money permissible from the Non-Refundable Amount from their Provident Fund account. According to Prakash Devdas, president of the Municipal Karmachari Karyalayen Sangh, about 300 employees have sent letters to the administration requesting withdrawal of various sums from the Non-Refundable Amount, which extends loans for weddings and purchase of accommodation.They have also asked the administration to deduct the minimum amount required from their salaries towards the PFevery month to reduce the pool of PF funds available with the administration. Employees usually ask for larger sums to be deducted as a means of saving, Devdas said. To complete the squeeze on the corporation's access to their money, the union comprising of Class-III employees who earn about Rs 8,000-10,000 per month, have also demanded that a 60-per cent ceiling be imposed on the amount the administration is permitted to borrow from the PF account to restrict access to their money. At present there is no limit to the amount the BMC is allowed to borrow from the PF account.Devdas says about 300 employees have submitted applications for withdrawal from the Non-Refundable Amount every month since the last two months against the earlier average 100. But with the recent announcement of a proposal to borrow Rs 350 crore from the PF for capital works, the largest such loan ever, Devdas says the employees are now growing panicky.Saying it is doubtful whether the administration will be able to repay such vast loansfrom the PF account, he remarks: ``The deficit will increase every year and with no cash inflow, it will not be possible to repay the money borrowed from the PF.'' The union also says there are grave apprehensions whether the Rs 55 crore borrowed from the PF account and invested in the Krishna Valley Project will be returned by the state government as the latter too is in financial dire straits.

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