Dipping into the provident fund pool has been a lifesaver for government employees for decades, a practice that found its way into popular literature and cinema of the immediate decades following India’s independence. But that will no longer be the case.

For, the Bengal government’s latest order on austerity measures has put the government provident fund (GPF) out of bounds for government employees. From now on, employees can withdraw funds from GPF only for medical expenses, education and house building purposes. Also, those retiring from service are still eligible to withdraw their money, collected over the years and deposited with the government.

“I have not seen an order including GPF in austerity measures during my entire service life and I had to issue a few in my days as well. It is clear the government does not have funds,” said a former bureaucrat who has worked and lived in Bengal for over four decades.

The government has announced a blanket ban on spending on new vehicles, computers, furniture, air-conditioners, television sets, renovation, furnishing, et al, till December 31 to meet the economic challenges posed by the second wave of the Covid pandemic. In addition, the eighth point in the memorandum states: Withdrawal from GPF only for treatment, education and house building purposes, and withdrawals in case of superannuation will be allowed.

Pet schemes of Mamata Banerjee launched in the last 10 years, like Kanyashree, Khadyasathi, Swasthyasathi, Rupashree and the like, have been kept out of the purview of the austerity measures. Till Thursday's autsterity order came into effect, restrictions imposed on withdrawal from the GPF was only on the number of times _ twice in any financial year and once for any given purpose.

“There can be any number of reasons for withdrawal of funds. We did not need anyone’s nod for that. This was the money that we had set aside for meeting any situation, fulfilling our wishes,” said an employee of the animal husbandry department who was clearly distraught at the new regulations.

The GPF corpus is estimated to be around Rs 5, 601 crore.

The unprecedented decision to put the cap on withdrawals from GPF for the employees has raised the eyebrows of officials too. Why us, they ask.

“There has not been a single government employee since the present system of governance has been in place who did not have to withdraw funds from GPF for their daughter’s marriage,” said Malay Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of the INTUC-affiliated confederation of state government employees. “This is not the government’s money, it’s ours. This is a very serious issue.”

Mukhopadhyay said in the last 10 years since it has been in power, the Mamata Banerjee government had not provided the exact number of government employees on its rolls to the pay commission. An estimated three lakh employees are directly employed by the state government, while the rest are in other services including education.

“Figures collated during the Left Front government’s tenure are still being cited. The present government has gone for re-employment and contractual services,” Mukhopadhyay said.

CPM Rajya Sabha MP and lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya said he would challenge the order. “The state government is working against the interests of the employees in the name of austerity while it continues to spend on advertisements and tours. The government is using the hard earned money of the employees to fulfil its own needs,” he said.