Anganwadi workers yet to be paid honorarium for services during polls in Kothagudem

During the time of elections the officials said that an amount of Rs.18,000 per worker would be paid. Later they said Rs.1000 would be paid per month

Kothagudem: Anganwadi workers who have served as booth level officers during the previous Assembly and Parliament elections are yet to be paid honorarium for the work they did during the elections.

There are around 1095 anganwadi workers across the district. They were employed to receive applications for changes in voters list such as additions and deletions, monitoring arrangements in polling booths and as booth level officers (BLOs) during polling. They also distributed voting slips prior to polling in five Assembly segments in the district. In addition to anganwadi workers, ASHA workers and MEPMA staff have been engaged in election duty. They performed their election duty in addition to their regular work.

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Speaking to Telangana Today, AITUC affiliated Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Association state vice president Gone Mani complained that even after more than a year passed since the elections took place the honorarium has not been paid.

During the time of elections the officials said that an amount of Rs.18,000 per worker would be paid. Later they said Rs.1000 would be paid per month. But the money was not paid despite repeated requests and staging of dharnas demanding to clear the dues, she lamented.

When asked, the local tahsildars said they had not received the funds and the dues would be cleared as soon as the funds are released. It was not clear whether the funds were not released or whether the officials were intentionally delaying the payment of honorarium, Mani stated.

Association district council members Prameela, Saroja and Ramadevi said the election officials had assured to pay Rs.1 each for distributing newly issued election identity cards. The anganwadi workers are also told that they would be paid Rs.10,000 each for carrying out the recent comprehensive household survey. But that money was also not paid so far, they said.

According to Mani, each anganwadi worker has to be paid amounts ranging from Rs.4000 to Rs.15,000 for the election duty they had carried out. The District Collector has to intervene to see that the dues are cleared as soon as possible, otherwise the workers would be forced to take up intensive agitations, she warned.