DHFL scam: UP power employees want govt to ensure payment of PF

Continuing with protests over investment of power sectors employees’ provident fund (PF) in the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), the UP Vidyut Karmchari

Continuing with protests over investment of power sectors employees’ provident fund (PF) in the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), the UP Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti on Monday threatened that the state’s power employees would proceed on an indefinite strike if any repressive action was taken against them during their statewide protest rallies on November 14.

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It also urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to see to it that the state government took responsibility for payment of their Rs 2,600 crore (26 billion) PF that still remained unrecoverable from DHFL.

Sangharsh Samiti convenor Shailendra Dubey said earlier energy minister Shrikant Sharma had announced that UPPCL would take responsibility for paying the PF, but now DHFL had said that it will make the payment.

“It is impossible for DHFL to pay the money back since the company is insolvent and its accounts remain frozen on the Bombay high court order,” Dubey said, adding, “Therefore, the government should immediately release a notification taking the responsibility for paying the PF amount to power employees so that they can work without tension about their money.”

He said employees would take out rallies in different cities on November 14 and would further step up their agitation if the government did not issue the notification.

Dubey said the government must dismiss the former UPPCL chairman because PF investment in the DHFL continued under him for two years.

UP Power Officers Association (UPOA) working president Awadhesh Kumar Verma also reiterated the demand for the government to issue a notification giving the guarantee of paying PF to employees.