Anganwadi and ASHA workers have crucial roles in early education and healthcare which are among the most important areas of life, but they are also among the most neglected sections of community workers. Both are particularly important in rural areas. But, as a report in DH on Thursday showed, as many as 1.35 lakh Anganwadi workers and over 40,000 ASHA workers in Karnataka have not received their honorarium for several months. The ASHA workers have not got their performance-based incentive either. The duration of payment default varies from district to district. This is not the first time there were payment failures. Last year also, payments were delayed twice by at least two to four months.
The reasons cited for the delay have varied every time, and they were all unconvincing. Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Randeep D has said that the model code of conduct and the shifting of the payment server had caused the delay. Was anybody else’s, including the official’s, salary delayed because of this? The Union government is also being blamed, as it is said to be streamlining the system for direct transfer of payments. These are workers who get a pittance for a salary and give to society much more than what they get. Many Anganwadi workers pay for the eggs that they give to the children under their care, and some others even pay the rent for the Anganwadi buildings where they work. This is because rotten eggs are supplied for distribution, or the rent is not paid in time as funds are not released. These are not even government staff and they are paid poorly, but they are made to pay for the failures at high levels. Anuradha K N, Director, Women and Child Development, said the rents were not paid because of procedural issues. What is clear from all this is that the government and the top officials are callous in handling the issues related to the work and remuneration of community workers performing critical work.
For many of these workers, the meagre monthly income, which is barely around Rs 10,000, is the income for survival of their families. The value of an egg that an Anganwadi worker buys for children is much more than its price. The value of an ASHA worker’s work was seen during the Covid pandemic. The government and society owe them much, and they should not be ill-treated and denied even their dues. During the election campaign, Priyanka Gandhi promised to Anganwadi and ASHA workers specific increases in honorarium and retirement compensation if the Congress came to power. Now’s the time to clear the dues, and make good the promises.