The Hindu : Many PSUs among PF defaulters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 22, 2003

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Many PSUs among PF defaulters

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI AUG. 21 . Some major Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) figure in the list of Provident Fund (PF) defaulters made public by the Labour Ministry here today.

While West Bengal topped the list among the States, industrial giants such as the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), the Maruti Udyog Limited, the Hindustan Machine Tools Limited (HMT), the Indian Oil Corporation and the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (IDPL) are among the Central PSUs that have failed to give the employees their dues.

The Union Labour Minister, Sahib Singh Verma, releasing the list, said the total outstanding dues as on July 31 was Rs. 1,756 crores, of which Rs. 1,185.33 crores (or 67.49 per cent) was currently locked up in court cases, liquidation, or proceedings under the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).

The amount realisable was only Rs. 570.88 crores. A total of Rs. 352.75 crores was locked up in the State PSUs category, Rs 315 crores in Central PSUs, and Rs 1,088 crores in the private sector.

``There are about 1,258 defaulters as of now, but the Minister's effort in July to recover dues from defaulters had helped realise over Rs. 200 crores. The recovery until July-end last year was to the tune of Rs. 209 crores, while in the same period this year it is Rs 409 crores,'' he said. After the Labour Ministry launched the `Compliance 04' programme to recover dues, 3,323 units had made full payment, while 4810 had made partial payments.

While West Bengal topped the list of defaulting CPSUs with a massive Rs. 14,488.37 lakhs in dues, Maharashtra followed with Rs. 5,259 lakhs and Andhra Pradesh with Rs 2,853.63 lakhs. West Bengal also had the largest number — 44 — of defaulting establishments under the `exempted' list and the dues touched Rs. 19,502 lakhs. Under the State Public Sector, Madhya Pradesh owed a whopping Rs. 5,901.71 lakhs, Orissa about Rs. 4,544 lakhs and Uttar Pradesh Rs. 4,315 lakhs.

Mr. Verma said the list of defaulters would be released on the 15th of every month and also posted on the Labour Ministry's website. So far, action had been initiated against 15,653 establishments, including registration of police complaints against 93. Notices for arrests had been issued in 237 cases and 68 arrests had been made. ``Once people start going to jail, recoveries will be faster,'' he said. The CPSUs owed the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation Rs 371.4 crores and the State PSUs Rs 1,756. 21 crores.

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