Thiruvananthapuram: The Electricity Regulatory Commission has warned that if the pension fund does not come into effect soon, there will be a serious crisis in providing pension and retirement benefits to employees. The commission also accused the board officials of not taking the matter seriously despite repeated warnings. 

The board was asked to determine the amount to be paid to the pension fund and how it would be found within three months. It also ordered that the balance of the liabilities already approved in the fund be deposited within three months. These orders were issued when the board’s figures for 2021-22 were revised. 

Rs 300 crore has been approved to be temporarily set aside for the purpose of the pension fund. As on March 31, Rs 35,804.61 crore is an estimated requirement to pay pension and retirement benefits. It has been a liability since 2013 when it became a board company. 

That is, this amount has been arrived after calculating the benefits and pension to be distributed at the time of retirement of those employees who are not part of the contributory pension scheme. 

In order to raise this money, a master trust fund was created under the 2013 agreement. The government and the board should invest money into this. However, the fund did not materialise as stipulated. Although the bond was issued, money was not invested into the fund exclusively for this purpose.

A 20 year bond worth Rs 8144 crore and a ten year bond worth Rs 3751 crore were issued. The board demanded that 35.4 percent of the amount due to the fund be borne by the government and 64.6 percent by the board. However, the government is yet to take a decision in this regard.

The commission has found that the board will have a profit of Rs 753 crore for the 2021-22 year. The weight of the proposed tariff hike will be reduced proportionately.