Rs 30.52 crore stuck in 7.11 lakh inactive accounts of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) will soon be returned to the concerned account holders or their legal heirs. This decision of the Labor Ministry is part of the initiative to close 31.86 lakh accounts which are currently lying inactive. According to the ministry, some of these accounts are up to 20 years old, in which there has been no transaction for three years. The ministry said that as a pilot project to close inactive accounts, seven lakh such accounts have been selected, in which the amount is zero to Rs 1,000 and these are linked to Aadhaar. Therefore, EPFO will transfer this money directly to their account. Rs 30.52 crore are deposited in these accounts. If the pilot project is successful, the money will be returned to other accounts in a similar manner. Provident Fund is a mandatory government scheme for people working in the private sector. In this, each employee contributes 12 percent of the basic salary, while the employer also contributes the same amount. But, when there is no transaction in the account for three years then it turns into a dormant account. The Labor Ministry is now moving towards closing such accounts.
Total deposits of Rs 10,903 crore
There are about 31.86 lakh inactive PF accounts in EPFO, in which total deposits are Rs 10,903 crore. According to the government, EPFO members can now easily make claims to withdraw their money. But, it has also been seen that in accounts where there is less money, members leave them as is to avoid the hassle of commuting.
small amount big problem
Small amounts of PF are a cause of big trouble, because thousands of crores of rupees are lying in inactive accounts. People do not want to take them out and the ministry remains accountable for the money. Due to this, official guidelines and plans to work on time are also being affected.
