MPCC pitches for Anganwadi workers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 09 2022: Categorically asserting that holding back the honorarium of Anganwadi workers for a protracted period would be a gross injustice, the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has urged the State Government to release out-standing honorariums enti- tled to Anganwadi workers of the State.

Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan here today, MPCC vice-president L Tilotama said that the monthly honorarium given to Anganwadi workers of the State is not even half the amount received by their counterparts of other States even after the honorarium was raised to Rs 3500 from Rs 3000 .

Reminding that Chief Minister N Biren gave an assurance before the end of his previous Government's term to raise the honorarium of Anganwadi workers to Rs 12,000 or Rs 15,000 per month as given in Delhi, Goa and Gujarat, Tilotama expressed keen desire for the Chief Minister to keep his words.

MPCC pitches for Anganwadi workers

Notwithstanding the fact that the Anganwadi workers of Manipur are given a paltry honorarium of Rs 3500, the MPCC vice-president decried that even this measly sum has not been relea- sed for the past 10 months.

Many Anganwadi workers and helpers are well educated.

They took up these jobs out of helplessness, she said.

She then urged the Government to understand the woes of Anganwadi workers and helpers and release their outstanding honorariums at the earliest.

Anganwadi workers are multi-tasking staff.

Their duties and responsibilities are so many and varied.

They are assigned to count the number of children, deliver/administer vaccines, carry out health check-up (of children) etc, she said.

They are also used in many other tasks as required from time to time.

The honorarium given to Angan-wadi workers and helpers is quite incompatible as compared to the varied tasks entrusted to them, Tilotama remarked.

Even though cooks of Mid-Day Meal scheme are given only Rs 1000 as monthly wage, the same wage has not been released for the past 17 months, she said.

The cooks are given monthly wage only for 10 months in a year.

All those people who have been working as Mid-Day Meal cooks must be from very poor families otherwise no one would agree to do a job which pays just Rs 1000 in a month, Tilotama asserted.

As such, holding back the wages of such cooks for 17 months in a row is nothing but torture and harassment of the poor, she said.

The Central Government had already released Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2020-21 followed by another Rs 10 crore for the financial year 2021-22, Tilotama said.

Reminding N Biren's promise to turn Manipur into a 'golden land' if BJP is given absolute majority, the MPCC vice-president appealed to the Chief Minister to fulfil his promise.