Employees who retired in the last six months are in a fix as the authorities have stopped accepting applications for the release of advance (loan) amount, partial withdrawal and full payment of the GPF amount. All the GPF (general provident fund) account-holders have been asked by the Zilla Parishad authorities to wait till the upgradation of the GPF software to process any application that has left many worried.
The State government stops deducting GPF amount from the salary of the employees six months prior to their retirement to ensure that it hands over the entire GPF amount to them on the day of their retirement. But it’s the other way round now. The retired employees have been waiting for their GPF money since the last six months.
Those who have retired and applied for the GPF amount are running from pillar to post to get the money released. It is said that the ZP authorities have not been accepting applications stating that they have been busy upgrading the GPF software after the existing ZPs were divided into several new ones.
On the contrary, a ZP official said the government has imposed complete ‘freeze’ on the payments of the GPF. “We have written to the State Finance Department seeking the release of ₹5 crore for the payment of GPF amount to some the retired employees. But, there has been no response from the government due to severe financial crunch,” he said.
An SGT from Government Primary School at Gumlapur village in Choppadandi mandal, B. Raja Kumari, who would be retiring on September 30, has been making rounds to the ZP office urging the authorities to accept her application for the release of her GPF amount. “I expected that my GPF amount would be given to me on my retirement day so that I can have a retirement plan. But the authorities are not even accepting my application form,” she rued.
A headmaster from Thimmapur mandal who retired last month has also been facing a similar situation. “I had planned to construct a house with my savings made through GPF. But I feel stuck now,” he said.