ANGANWADI WORKERS IN DELHI GET 100% HIKE IN SALARY

The Delhi government on Saturday announced a 100% hike in honorarium of anganwadi workers and helpers in the city.

The announcement, however, failed to placate the staff, who have been agitating near chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence for nearly a month, demanding a pay raise.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said a Cabinet decision has been taken to raise the allowances of the workers and helpers to ₹10,170 and ₹5,089, respectively.

“The decision will be notified only after lieutenant governor Anil Baijal’s approval,” he said.

Anganwadi workers and helpers get a monthly allowance of ₹5,000 and ₹2,500, respectively.

Of the amount, ₹500 will be a mobile and internet component for workers and ₹250 for helpers, Kejriwal tweeted.

A spokesperson of the Delhi Anganwadi Worker-Helper Association, which is leading the protest, said they would take out a march on Monday from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar.

“The government is trying to buy time. Earlier, it used to say not all files require the L-G’s approval. We fear the latest announcement is also a hogwash,” the spokesperson said.

Association president Shivani Kaul said in a statement, “The government should follow the official procedure and conclude an agreement with the Union…or it should issue a government notification from the concerned department…. Without that, there is no question of calling off the strike.”

There are about 11,000 anganwadi centres in Delhi, and each centre has one worker and one helper, a government official said.