Mangla Dam raising project victims: EOBI gives Rs five billion loan to MoWP for rehabilitation

Employees'' Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) has given Rs 5 billion loan to Ministry of Water and Power on 15 percent mark-up for construction of houses and infrastructure for the affected people of Mangla Dam raising project. Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khursheed Shah on Tuesday told Standing Committee on Labour and Manpower, which met with Dr Ghulam Haider Samejo in the chair at Parliament House.
He said that the EOBI gave Rs 5 billion to the government for the rehabilitation of Mangla Dam raising project-affected people. The Minister said that the EOBI has deposited a total of Rs 42 billion on 11.3 percent interest rate in the National Bank of Pakistan. We have withdrawn all the amount of EOBI, which was lying in various private banks and deposited all the amount in National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in June, 2010.
He said that the deposits of the EOBI were gradually depleting, due to lack of proper investment. He said that the Ministry of Labour and Manpower has officially decided to invest the money in the government institutions, not private sector.
The Minister said that the Ministry is being devolved and its affairs are being handed over to the Provinces under 18th Amendment. We should take up this issue very seriously because Workers Welfare Fund would be dissolved and more than 55 million workers and pension holders would be handed over to the provinces. He said that he is afraid of post-devolution fate of EOBI because it pays billions of rupees to the workers and pension holders.
Answering to questions of the members, the Minister said that the ministry has followed the rules and procedure for the new appointments in EOBI. He said, "We did not take any written test for new appointments because it is not mentioned in the rules. We appointed these employees purely on the basis of quota and qualifications."
Earlier, EOBI Chairman Zafar Iqbal Gondal briefed the Committee about the new appointees and their training. He said that the ministry has followed rules and regulations hundred percent for new appointments. The EOBI Chairman also informed that our software is being upgraded. In this regard, he said that the EOBI has signed MoUs with NADRA.