Training on PF, Pension, Student Scholarship and Govt Schemes:
HLDRC created a help desk for provident fund/Pension in the year 2015 to assist the workers of tea gardens of the Terai & Dooars region who are being deprived of the statutorily payable amount. (PF)/Pension is a crucial intervention for tea garden workers, providing them financial assistance by helping them claim their pending amounts through the support desk of HLDRC. PF/Pension help desk is operating in two units, one is located in Terai, at Matigara (Head Office) and the other is located in Dooars, Gairkata (Branch Office). The activity includes conducting mass awareness programs on importance of PF, Pension and Gratuity, Govt Schemes, student scholarship etc. followed by training /workshops for a selected group of men, women and youth. With guidance from retired PF enforcement officer Mr. Lazarus Ekka, HLDRC staff Kishor Tirkey, Punamraj Toppo and Pradeep Kujur have already been able to help obtain PF and pensions of about a 100 retired workers from Kamala Bagan, Bhojnarayan, Gayaganga, Matidhar, Sanyasi and Maruti tea gardens. Likewise, after seminars in different gardens, students’ groups have been formed to fill up forms for PF/pension, ST/SC certificates and various student scholarships.
Many students have been helped to get financial assistance from Tea Board of India. At regular basis the HLDRC staff has been helping prepare PAN card, Aadhar Card and documents essential for availing any government scheme. In order to help tea workers and other village people to avail various Government Schemes, Fr. Lalit and Mr Punamraj Toppo (an HLDRC staff) have published a simplified booklet on Government Schemes that have been sold out like hot cakes and needs new edition. One of the primary challenges in accessing these schemes is the lack of proper documentation in PF records or discrepancies in documents. The tea garden management often does not provide assisstance in resolving these matters. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a rise of fraudulent activities, such as interference of anti-social elements, plundering worker’s PF/Pension and Employee Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI). The corrupt practice in the PF office or in the tea management gobbles half of the claimant amount. now-a-days some middlemen (broker) have emerged in tea gardens, promising to resolve such matters but in return gobbles half of the claimed amount.
The following table represents HLDRC interventions in Terai Region:
| CATEGORY | No. of cases solved/claimed/availed |
| ST/SC CERTIFICATE | 409 |
| PAN CARD | 361 |
| PF/PENSION | 256 |
| TEA BOARD SCHOLARSHIP | 14 |
| Total | 1040 |
Working areas of HLDRC:
| Blocks Covered | 05 |
| Tea Gardens Covered | 19 |
| No. of individuals | 632 |
HLDRC through the help desk of PF/Pension looks forward to provide a gateway to help an individual to claim their retirement fund. The amount provides financial security and stability to the tea garden workers who are illiterate, so that they can use this amount to assist their children’s education. The tea garden workers get meager salary that is insufficient to meet their basic needs. As a result, they struggle to provide their children with education, which can perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Due to this they are unable to impart education to their children. Hence, this activity not only helps individual but also the entire society to improve and grow as a collective effort for caring for the poor and marginalized.
