Chandigarh, December 29- Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal has made several important announcements in the interest of Anganwadi workers and helpers as new year gifts. The Chief Minister announced to give Rs 1 lakh to Anganwadi workers and Rs 50,000 to helpers from December 31, 2021. Along with this, the monthly honorarium will be increased to Rs 400 from September 2020 and Rs 450 from September 2021 and arrears for two years (years 2019-20 and 2020-21) along with incentive of Rs 1000 each will be given to all Anganwadi workers for working as frontline workers during COVID-19.
The Chief Minister made these announcements during a meeting held on Wednesday with the office bearers of Anganwadi Workers Union regarding their demands. Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Smt. Kamlesh Dhanda, was also present on the occasion.
Anganwadi workers and helpers will not be removed from their centres
The Chief Minister took other important decisions while considering the demands of the Anganwadi workers sympathetically. He said that no Anganwadi worker and helper would be removed from the Anganwadi centres. Rather, the state government is moving ahead in the direction of opening crèches along with Anganwadis in the state. These crèches will have even better facilities for children. Along with fresh candidates, Anganwadi workers will also get a chance for recruitment in these crèches.
Anganwadi workers will be covered under Ayushman Bharat Scheme
Sh. Manohar Lal said that Anganwadi workers will be covered under Ayushman Bharat scheme in future. Along with this, under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, an amount of Rs 2 lakh will be provided in case of an accident. Under this scheme, a premium of Rs 12 per month will be paid by the state government.
Announcement of giving Rs 2 lakh each in a recent case of accidental death of two Anganwadi workers
On hearing about the death of two Anganwadi workers of Jhajjar district in an accident recently, Sh. Manohar Lal announced an immediate release of Rs. 2 lakh each for the victims on the spot. He said that the rent of all Anganwadi centres would be given by the Panchayat or ULB after review from the PWD. He said that a policy would be formulated for promotion of Anganwadi workers to the post of supervisor through written examination.
Mobile phones will be given to all Anganwadi workers
The Chief Minister said that new changes are taking place in the modern era of technology. It is the effort of the State Government that in future Anganwadis should also be modern and better facilities should be provided for the children. For this purpose, all the Anganwadi workers will be given one mobile phone each by the department so that they can keep the complete data report related to their Anganwadi online and maintain regular updates on the nutrition tracker app. For this training will be given to Anganwadi workers. He further said that the use of technology brings transparency in the system and also eliminates the possibility of any malpractices.
Government is working with the spirit of Antyodaya
He said that with the spirit of Antyodaya, the State Government is taking continuous steps to ensure that the benefits of government welfare schemes reach to the last person. For this, Antyodaya fairs are being organised under the Chief Minister Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana, in which one lakh families with income of up to Rs. 1 lakh have been identified in the first phase. Such identified families will be linked with scheme or self employment as per their eligibility and the sole aim is to increase their family income. So far, about 17,000 families have benefited through these fairs.
Representatives of Anganwadi Workers Union expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister and the Minister of State for Women and Child Development
The representatives of Anganwadi Workers Union after the meeting expressed their gratitude to Sh. Manohar Lal and Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Smt. Kamlesh Dhanda for accepting their demands and for announcements made by the Chief Minister. They added that these announcements of the Chief Minister would directly benefit the families of thousands of Anganwadi workers and helpers in the state.
On this occasion Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, Smt. G. Anupama, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Smt. Ashima Brar, Director of Women and Child Development, Smt. Hema Sharma and other officers of the department were present.