PF office cracks down on more defaulters

Ludhiana: Regional office of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has cracked a whip on more offenders who have not paid their long-time dues. A team of recovery officers of the department arrested the principal of a reputed school of Ludhiana and released him only after recovery of provident fund (PF) dues amounting to Rs 2.4 lakh. Further, a property of a factory was also attached by the team, an official said.
On Thursday, a team of officers went to arrest the employer of an engineering firm, who on seeing the team ran away from the spot and took shelter on the premises of an adjoining establishment. But the recovery team after a dramatic chase, nabbed him and brought to the EPFO office, the official added.
Until now, the recovery team of Ludhiana under instructions from A K Singh, regional PF commissioner-I, and P P S Maingi, regional PF commissioner-2, has arrested 10 employers of different establishments. The team has recovered about Rs 70 lakh till date from various defaulters, including Rs 40 lakh from a leading textile firm of Ludhiana.
The officials on Thursday also reprimanded Food Corporation of India (FCI) for not complying with the terms and conditions regarding the contractual employees and gave a warning on stern action if proper guidelines were not followed.