NEW DELHI: Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday raised the plight of women workers implementing the critical government programmes, including ASHA and Anganwadi workers and the community resource persons under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.
In a mention in the Rajya Sabha, she said these initiatives were intended as pathways to women’s empowerment, but these women are overburdened and underpaid despite their vital contribution to the public service delivery.
Strengthening, expanding, and supporting this workforce is an investment in India’s future, she stressed.
Across the country, ASHA workers undertake immunisation, mobilisation, maternal health, and family welfare, yet they remain volunteers with low honorarium and limited social security, Sonia said.
She said Anganwadi workers are similarly paid a meagre base honorarium of Rs. 4,500 and Rs. 2,250 per month by the Union Government.
Beyond low pay, there are currently nearly three lakh vacancies in the ICDS at various levels. These gaps leave lakhs and lakhs of children and mothers without essential services. Even when filled, these posts fall short of population norms due to the lack of updated census figures since 2011, Sonia said.
She suggested that the Centre work closely with the states to prioritise the following measures:
1. Filling of all existing vacancies
2. Ensuring timely remuneration to all workers
3. Doubling of the Union Government’s contribution to the pay of these frontline workers
4. Appointing of an additional ASHA worker in villages with a population greater than 2,500
5. Doubling of the number of Anganwadi workers to enable early childhood education in addition to existing nutrition and health initiatives.
Picture credit sansad tv
