Kishtwar, March 27: With an aim to reach out to the people at their doorsteps, PF Commissioner, Rizwan Uddin held a two-day tour to Kishtwar to conduct ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat’ here at various places of the district for the EPF beneficiaries and different stakeholders.
In one instance, the public hearing cum awareness programme was organised at Conference Hall, DC Office Complex Kishtwar on Monday for all the stakeholders and beneficiaries of EPFO of Kishtwar under the patronage of Rizwan Uddin in presence of Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Dr Devansh Yadav, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said in a statement.
Nearly 200 participants including district officers, employees and employers of various establishments, private schools, NHIDCL and HEPP participated in the outreach programme, the aim of which was to ensure broad-based participation, awareness, grievances redressal and information exchange network closer to the stakeholders of EPFO.
During the outreach programme, awareness of the various provisions and benefits of various EPF schemes was given to participants through a PPT presentation by Enforcement officer Bipin Kumar.
DC Kishtwar urged all the participants to avail outreach programme and get acquainted with various provisions of EPF besides getting their grievances addressed on spot. The PF Commissioner also took an opportunity to provide handholding support to the stakeholders besides hearing them (their suggestions, inputs and grievances). He said that the combined efforts of all stakeholders would help in the extension of “social security” (through Pension and Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Schemes) to every working citizen of the district.
During the programme, the majority of grievances of EPF beneficiaries were addressed on spot. Various online initiatives of EPFO such as balance enquiry, filing of online claims including transfer and advance claims and members’ basic details were explained with hands-on demonstration. The role and responsibilities of the principal employers and the significance of related online portals were also read out in the programme. QR code format was also distributed among the stakeholders to digitally reach out the information regarding the EPF provisions. Issues and problems faced by the various Organizations in implementing the EPF & MP Act. 1952 was also heard and necessary actions were taken accordingly.
“The visit by the PF Commissioner has brought to light the issue of worker exploitation and the failure of major contractors to ensure the allotment of Universal Account Number (UAN) to employees engaged by their contractors,” the EPFO said, adding that efforts are made during “Nidhi Aapke Nikat” programme to redress cases and grievances the same day or at the earliest.
