BSNL Retirees Stage Agitation in Chennai Over Unsettled 110 Crore Savings
In a significant development, around 600 retired Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employees in Tamil Nadu organized a protest demonstration in Chennai's Egmore area on Thursday. The agitation was directed against the Government Telecom Employees' Cooperative Society (GTECS), with participants accusing the society of gross mismanagement and maladministration that has led to approximately 110 crore rupees in savings being withheld for more than seven years.
Background of the Government Telecom Employees' Cooperative Society
The All India BSNL Pensioners' Welfare Association provided context, explaining that GTECS is a multi-state cooperative society operating under the Union Ministry of Cooperation. It was originally established to offer financial assistance and support to telecom employees working within the Tamil Nadu and Chennai telephone circles. According to the established rules, when an employee retires from service, their membership in the society automatically ceases. At that point, the society is obligated to return their accumulated deposits and dividends after making necessary adjustments for any outstanding loan dues.
Widespread Impact on Retired Employees
The association highlighted a distressing pattern: no retiree has received their rightful payments since October 2018. This delay has created a severe financial crisis for many families. Circle President R Venkatachalam revealed that approximately 4,000 retirees are affected by this issue. The individual dues vary significantly, ranging from 50,000 rupees to as high as 8 lakh rupees per person. The total outstanding amount is estimated to be nearly 110 crore rupees, representing a substantial sum that has been inaccessible to those who contributed to it during their working years.
Venkatachalam further emphasized the human cost of this administrative failure, noting that about 40 retirees have passed away in the intervening years without ever receiving their settled dues. This has added emotional and financial strain to their families, who were depending on these funds for stability and support.
Allegations of Mismanagement and Administrative Failures
The protesting association has made several serious allegations against GTECS. They claim that repeated representations and appeals to the central registrar of cooperative societies in New Delhi have yielded no tangible results or resolutions. Additionally, the association suspects that the society's funds have been improperly locked into land purchases, and that necessary loan repayments to banks have not been cleared. These actions, they argue, have exacerbated the financial crisis and prevented the disbursement of dues to retirees.
Current State of the Society and Broader Protests
Venkatachalam pointed out that the society is currently operating without an elected governing body, which has created a leadership vacuum. This absence of authoritative decision-makers has further complicated efforts to resolve the outstanding issues. The protest in Chennai was not an isolated event; it was part of a larger, coordinated agitation. On January 7, similar protests were held across various district headquarters throughout Tamil Nadu, marking the first phase of a sustained campaign to draw attention to the retirees' plight.
The retired BSNL employees are calling for immediate intervention and accountability to ensure that their hard-earned savings are rightfully returned to them, providing much-needed financial relief after years of service in the telecom sector.
