People toiling hard to get refund of PF claims

Several cases pending in office for months together

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, July 11: Notwithstanding tall claims of State Government of providing prompt service to the people, the services being rendered by Employees Provident Fund Office (EPFO) have not been included under the ambit of Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA) resulting in hardships to the employee class.

The employees are finding it difficult to get the refund of their hard earned saving in the form of PF in the hour of need.

According to sources, there were several cases of PF refund, advances and transfer were lying pending with the office of EPFO causing harassment to the people. Sources added that there were many instances where the refund cases were pending for several months and there was no one to take grievances of aggrieved people.

“Few months back, a board was put in on the office wall wherein it the maximum period for different services was mentioned. But after some time the same was brought down as it was adversely hitting the interests of officials,” disclosed sources.

One of the aggrieved person told on the condition of anonymity, “I had applied for the refund of PF in the month of March. Since then I have been to the Employee Provident Fund Office for seven or eight time but the concerned clerk asked me to wait for few more days on successive occasions, which is causing inconvenience to me. I even approached Chief Accounts Officer Tripta Baru to sort out the matter but she also asked me to wait for some time.”

Several other people have also narrated their tale of woes at EPF Office, but due to the absence of Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA) they found it difficult to put the officials on task for timely disposal of their claims.

When contacted, Additional Provident Fund Commissioner (APFC) Kamal Mahendru denied inconvenience or hardships to the employee class vis-à-vis PF refund, transfer and advances.

“None of the person has come forward with any sort of complaint to his office,” he added.

He informed that said draft proposal for taking services of the office under the ambit of PSGA was under process and will be introduced soon. He, however, informed that the department at its own have fixed the maximum duration of duration 60 days for refund cases whereas for advance and transfer time limit was 15 to 30 days.