In UP, honorarium of anganwadi workers & helpers hiked, to get cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a Rs 4,000 increase in the monthly honorarium for anganwadi workers and helpers, raising their pay to Rs 12,000 and Rs 6,000 respectively. The anganwadi workers and helpers, along with their families, will now receive cashless medical treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh annually.

This announcement came during a felicitation programme in Ayodhya, where the Chief Minister also revealed plans to make anganwadi centres smart by utilizing smartphones and real-time data. Adityanath highlighted that when the BJP came to power in 2017, the honorarium for anganwadi workers was only Rs 3,000, which was later increased to Rs 8,000.

The latest hike brings the total to Rs 12,000, while the honorarium for helpers was increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000 earlier, now reaching Rs 6,000. The government also announced that 2.91 lakh anganwadi workers and helpers will now receive three sarees annually, an additional Rs 500 for the extra saree, with the state bearing an estimated Rs 20 crore additional expenditure.

Smartphone devices have been distributed to 1.28 lakh workers, and real-time data recording for schemes will be implemented. Adityanath criticized previous governments for leaving anganwadi centres in a dilapidated state, lacking essential facilities, and being compromised by a mafia controlling nutritional food distribution. He assured that the government is now taking steps to free nutritional food from such influence, with Take Home Ration plants operational at 204 locations through women's self-help groups.

The Chief Minister also noted that despite opposition from the Samajwadi Party and Congress, both the Ram Temple and Ayodhya's development continued, culminating in the consecration of Ramlala in the grand temple.