Over 21 lakh PF claims pending till Aug 30

A total of 21,66,935 provident fund (PF) settlement claims were pending with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) up to August 30, 2011. Of this, the highest number of pending claims were in Maharashtra at 7,01,398, followed by 3,88,735 in Karnataka, 3,11,418 in Delhi, 2,06,006 in Tamil Nadu and 1,28,320 in Haryana. This information was given by the Labour and Employment Minister, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, in a written reply to a question by Mr K.E. Ismail in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Mr Kharge said the EPFO was taking steps for speedy disposal of claims by upgrading its offices, opening new offices, computerisation of the settlement process and recruitment of staff among others.