While opposition organisations have raised objection to giving their consent to deduct five-day salary towards contribution for the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for reconstruction in Wayanad, government employees are reporting instances where they are unable to apply for provident fund loan.

An employee who tried to apply for the PF loan via the Service and Payroll Administrative Repository of Kerala (SPARK) couldn't proceed with the application as a pop-up showed that the employee has not opted for CMDRF contribution (Wayanad 2024) and hence cannot proceed. “The application was initiated online using user code and password, but even in the first step, it was shown ' couldn't proceed'. We have not even been given the consent forms so far and we are still in the dark as to how it is done. Denying the PF loan citing this reason is unfair,” an employee said.

Employees apply for PF online on SPARK and then it is processed via drawing officers. As per the notification on the SPARK web page, salary processing for the month of August 2024 is stopped for the time being in order to enable the CMDRF Wayanad flood relief- salary challenge module. It also says that software provision has been enabled in SPARK software for contributing to CMDRF(Wayanad 2024) through various payment options. Salary processing will be enabled on August 27, it says.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal told Onmanorama that such a restriction has not been effected. “It should not have happened, I will look into it,” said Balagopal.

The finance department has recently issued guidelines for the collection of five days' salary of government employees towards contribution to the CMDRF. The fund is being collected for the reconstruction activities in landslide-hit Wayanad. The order says that contribution is expected from all the staff of government/PSU/Board/University/Aided/Local bodies/Grant-in-aid/commissions/tribunals and other government institutions.

According to the guidelines, a consent letter will be received from the staff by the officers concerned. A minimum of five days' salary will be collected from the staff. The amount so collected will be directed towards a special account being opened in the treasury. Those who contribute the salary can do so in three instalments. Those staff who wish to contribute more than five-day salary can make contributions in 10 instalments.

The amount being contributed towards the CMDRF will be deducted from the salary of August which will be distributed in September. The order says that the staff can also make contributions towards CMDRF from their provident fund account.