Rs 1K cr pension dues of power utility staff blocked in Yes Bank
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 9
Questions are being raised following reports that Rs 1,000 crore pension and provident fund dues of employees of Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has been blocked at Yes Bank.
Was recently deposited in savings account
It is learnt that the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) amount was recently deposited in a savings bank account. The HVPN was managing PF of employees in a trust.
The amount was supposed to be invested in AAA-rated institutions so that the corpus could grow and meet the liability of provident fund and pension.
AdvertisementThe amount had been parked in Yes Bank for the time being as instrument for investment was yet to be found, but now, it was blocked in Yes Bank.
Congress communication incharge Randeep Surjewala tweeted, “Why did Haryana BJP government deposit over Rs 1,000 crore in Yes Bank a month ago knowing that it was sinking? Is this figure Rs 3,000 crore?”
Deposits of Kurukshetra University (KU) of over Rs 100 crore and of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) of over Rs 150 crore had also been blocked, said sources.
A senior official said the government today asked all departments, boards, corporations and universities to provide details of their deposits in various banks, including Yes Bank.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed Yes Bank under a moratorium on Thursday, with depositor withdrawals capped at Rs 50,000 per account for a month.
The RBI took the decision in consultation with the government to protect depositors’ interest. The RBI also superseded the board of Yes Bank, which had not been able to raise required capital for the past six months.
It was learnt that the HVPN amount was recently deposited in a savings bank account. The HVPN was managing provident fund of employees in a trust. The amount was to be invested in AAA-rated institutions so that the corpus could grow and meet liability of provident fund and pension. It was learnt that the amount was parked in Yes Bank for the time being as instrument for investment was yet to be found, but now, it was blocked.
If the amount remained parked in the savings bank account for five to six months or up to a year, the Provident Fund Commissioner could raise an objection that the savings bank account was not AAA-rated and violated Ministry of Finance guidelines.
When contacted, Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala said he was busy in the Chief Minister’s rally in Sirsa recently and could comment only after reaching Chandigarh. Mohd Shayin, HVPN MD, did not respond to phone calls and SMSes.
VS Kundu, ACS and GMDA CEO, confirmed that there were FDRs in Yes Bank. “We have been assured that we can withdraw these soon,” he said.
“We want to know how much money has been invested in Yes Bank. We do not want to lose our money. We will wait till March 12 and may go on strike thereafter,” said All Haryana Power Corporation Workers’ Union president Subhash Lamba.
