ICDS staff demand honorarium, interview results
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 11 2025: Demanding disbursement of the pending performance-based honorarium for the two-month contracted work for Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), at the earliest, the Association of Contractual Staff 2016 ICDS Mission, Social Welfare Department staged protest at the Chingmeirong gate of the Department around 11:30 am on Monday.

Simultaneously, the association also raised their demand for declaring the results of the interview held for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) and Poshan Abhiyan at the earliest.

Speaking on the sidelines of the protest, Association general secretary Maibam Romeshchandra recounted that in 2016-2017, around 188 individuals were recruited on contract basis under ICDS for two months, but their contracts were later cancelled.

In 2019, another batch was called and, as such, 133 of the previous contracted workers appealed to the High Court of Manipur.

The High Court then directed that the 133 workers be included in the new recruitment process and consider their candidature.

Subsequently, the first interview was held in 2020-21 but the same was again discontinued and cancelled at the end of 2021.In 2022, a fresh interview was held, but the results remain undeclared till date despite multiple requests to the authority concerned, elaborated the secretary.

He continued that amid this, after recruitments were held for PMMBY, Poshan and MSK schemes in 2024, the centre cancelled MSK due to the expiration of the scheme.

"This has caused concerns whether the candidates for the remaining schemes would suffer the same fate.

The 188 candidates had been hoping that the 133 petitioners would be accepted for the work and as such, had not claimed the PBO of 1.2 years, " he remarked.

Urging for the performance based-honorarium to be distributed at the earliest, Romeshchandra said that denying the pay for their labour is denying their basic human rights.

"The candidates/workers are all breadwinners of their respective families," he reminded and urged for declaring the interview results of PMMVY and POSHAN scheme at the earliest.

Romeshchandra then cautioned that in case the demands are not met promptly, intense agitations would be launched.

Comment