New Delhi, December 16 (IANS). Congress Parliamentary Party President Sonia Gandhi has raised the issue of Asha workers and Anganwadi women workers. He said that these women, who are implementing government schemes at the grassroots level across the country, are getting very less honorarium.
In the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, he said that Asha workers, Anganwadi workers and assistants and community resource persons working under the National Rural Livelihood Mission are the backbone of women empowerment, but despite this they themselves are forced to work with heavy burden, low honorarium and limited social security. He demanded doubling of the Central Government’s contribution towards the honorarium of these women workers.
Sonia Gandhi drew the government’s attention to the conditions of these women workers. He said that the reality today is that the women implementing these schemes are working with heavy workload and very low remuneration. Sonia Gandhi said that Asha workers across the country are performing very sensitive and essential tasks like vaccination, public activism, maternal health and family welfare. Despite this, he has been kept as a volunteer till date. Their honorarium is very low and social security provisions are also limited.
Sonia Gandhi also expressed deep concern over the condition of Anganwadi workers and assistants. He said that the central government gives only Rs 4,500 per month to Anganwadi workers and Rs 2,250 per month to the helpers, which is extremely inadequate compared to the current inflation and workload. Apart from low honorarium, Sonia Gandhi also raised the issue of massive vacancies in the Integrated Child Development Services in the Rajya Sabha.
He said that at present about three lakh posts are lying vacant at various levels under the Integrated Child Development Services. Due to these gaps, millions of children and mothers across the country are being deprived of essential services like nutrition, health and early care. He also underlined that even when these posts are filled, they are not as per the population norms. This is because updated census data is not available since 2011.
In her statement, Sonia Gandhi urged the Central Government to work with the states to fill all the existing vacant posts soon and ensure timely honorarium to all the employees. Sonia Gandhi asked the government to double the Central Government’s contribution for these women frontline workers. An additional ASHA worker should be appointed in villages with a population of more than 2,500. The number of Anganwadi workers should be doubled, so that along with nutrition and health services, early childhood education can also be strengthened.
Concluding her address, Sonia Gandhi stressed that empowering, expanding and fully supporting this workforce is not just a question of social justice, but an important investment in India’s future.
–IANS
GCB/AS