Odisha Govt Hikes Monthly Remuneration of Anganwadi Workers

Bhubaneswar: In a major decision, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced a hike in the monthly remuneration of Anganwadi workers in the state.

As per the announcement, the monthly remuneration of Anganwadi workers was increased from Rs 7,500 to Rs 10,000, while the salary of mini Anganwadi workers was hiked to Rs 7,250 from Rs 5,375. Similarly, the helpers will get Rs 5,000 instead of Rs 3,750.

The revised remuneration will be implemented retrospectively from October 2023. The workers and helpers will receive the increased amount regularly from the current month of February.

The Chief Minister also announced that they will get assistance as social security along with the increase in the post-retirement incentive.

The decision will benefit 1.48 lakh Anganwadi workers, mini Anganwadi workers, and helpers. The state government will spend an additional Rs 350 crore annually for this, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office.

It is worth nothing that the Anganwadi workers had requested to increase their remuneration after meeting 5T chairman Kartik Pandian during his visit to various districts.

Four months (October 2023 to January 2024) increments will be credited to their bank accounts between March 5 and 10.

Similarly, the amount of severance incentive for Anganwadi workers has also been increased. It will be implemented from April this year. As per the increased incentive amount, the Anganwadi workers will get Rs 1 lakh instead of Rs 40,000 earlier. Mini Anganwadi workers will get Rs 75,000 instead of Rs 30,000 and helpers will receive Rs 50,000 instead of Rs 20,000.

Similarly, ex-gratia amount of Rs.2 lakh will be paid to the workers and helpers in case of death or physical disability due to an accident. Similarly, the government declared up to Rs.1 lakh for partial disability. This will also be applicable from April 1, 2024.