BMC clears PF loan

March 12: The General Body of the municipal corporation has passed the Finance Committee8217;s proposal to borrow an internal loan amounting to Rs 350 crore from the Employees8217; Provident Fund PF account. It will now be forwarded for a final approval to the state government.

The proposal, which had stirred panic among employees at the end of March, was passed without much opposition by the members of the general body today. The lone dissenting voice was that of nominated member and Samajwadi Party corporator, Ramesh Joshi, who raised a point of order saying that as per Section 3 of the Protection of Compulsory Deposit Act, 1925, the BMC cannot meddle with the PF. Joshi said as per the act, the BMC cannot take such a large internal loan from the PF account.

He was supported by other SP and Congress members. In his reply, Mayor Nandu Satam said that new clauses and acts had been framed by the BMC since the act was formulated in 1925 and the law had made provisions for procurement of internal loans. Moreover,he said, the municipal commissioner has been vested with the power to secure the loan.