Govt to sell gold donated to CM’s relief fund by June 10

Thiruvananthapuram: The finance department is tracking the fluctuating gold price as it tries to sell the gold contributed to the chief minister’s disaster response fund (CMDRF).
Gold weighing 510.3 grams have been contributed to the fund since the savage floods of August 2018. Each contribution, mostly ornaments, was sorted, evaluated and stored. The purity was also tested.
The department had to summon a gold appraiser from the Kerala State Financial Enterprises Ltd (KSFE) to check the purity and once the value was measured, it was stored in the treasury.
“We had received gold in small quantities before, it is for the first time we are dealing with such a considerable quantity of gold,” said an official with finance department. A four-member team from the finance department’s funds section has been sorting the gold. The value proportionate to the gold ornament was communicated to the people. After selling the ornaments, the value would be recorded and receipt generated.
“We categorised the contributions under three types: 916, 22 and 20 carats. We are looking for bulk sale and the appraiser has fixed a market sale value for the total contributions. These items cannot be sold individually. Once we get the money it will be credited to CMDRF. We hope to raise a minimum of Rs 14 lakh through the sale,” the official said.
The government now has 916 carat gold weighing 308.3 g, 22 ct weighing 197.7g and 20 ct weighing 4.3g.
Separate valuation was necessitated for small ornaments and those with embedded stones. The collection included a six-sovereign gold necklace contributed by a woman in Ernakulam and 50 sovereigns contributed by a couple. An earring with stones weighing 3.9g was contributed by a woman from Mattannur.
The smallest items in the list are tiny bangles and rings meant for babies which number up to 25 and weighing 4.3g. Gold coins weighing 1gm were also contributed. Another woman had contributed two bangles weighing 31.4 grams. Bank Employees’ Federation of India had contributed 381g.
“We plan to do it either through the bank or through any authorised system. We have been trying to work out a system to convert this into cash,” said Manoj Joshi, additional chief secretary, finance.
Officials said that they were looking for jewellery owners or goldsmiths to purchase the entire stock. The department had called for quotations to sell the gold stock by June 10. The total contribution to CMDRF stood at Rs 3,953.04 crore.