HYDERABAD: Recently a State government employee applied for part withdrawal of GPF (General Provident Fund) amount for his daughter’s marriage. With the concerned officials not responding positively for more than one and a half month, the vexed employee approached TNGO president Karem Ravinder Reddy, who in turn met an official in the Finance Department along with scores of other employees at the Secretariat on Tuesday and enquired about the delay in the payment.
Though it is not known what the outcome of that meeting was, this particular employee running pillar to post to get GPF amount is not an isolated case.
“Around Rs 2 crore GPF amounts are pending for release,” an employee told Express after meeting the Finance Department officials.
The instructions to the officials concerned was to not stop emergency payments and not create a fear that there was a “freeze” on payments. Despite this, the State government employees are facing problems.
Contractors too not paid!
Besides, some contractors who were not getting bill payments are seen making rounds of various sections of the Finance Department. However, sources in the department said that the payments of irrigation contractors were being paid regularly every month.
The State government is also making prompt payments to Mission Bhagiratha contractors. But the delay was seen in payment of bills for Roads and Buildings contractors.
“We have been clearing the Rythu Bandhu payments for the last few days. Now, we will make payments to others this week, most probably after December 20,” a Finance Department official explained. However, a State government employee wondered when the Aasara pension amounts would be doubled from next financial year and the Rythu Bandhu too would add some burden on the government, how would the government clear the terminal benefits and GPF amounts to employees.