Anganwadi Workers are ‘Soul’ of 47-yr old ICDS of GoI but why are they not regular employees?

Why engaged over 14 lakh AWWs on honorarium & not as regular employee when their job is regular?

DAYA SAGAR

Bali Bhagat Sr. BJP leader and Ex. Health Minister J&K has on November 12, 2022 urged the J&K UT Administration to settle salary issue of Anganwari Workers once for all by creating a ‘Corpus Fund’ for timely disbursal of salaries to them so that the Anganwari workers receive timely salaries. The suggestion has real merits since monthly “honorarium” to Anganwadi Workers is paid out of the funds provided by GoI for Anganwadi Service Centres ( under Integrated Child development Scheme (ICDS of GoI) which are released by GoI on six monthly basis and there have been regular procedural delays thereby making ‘workers’ to remain for months without even the small amount presently paid as ‘honorarium (1st instalment is released before15th April every year & 2nd instalment is released upon receipt of utilization certificate supported by required documents)’. Delayed payments of their “monthly dues” (honorarium), low amount of honorarium and no job / social security (even in a welfare programme of GoI) being operated over last 47 years are the issues that keep the AWWs under regular socio-economic stresses.
Less people may be knowing about the importance of this scheme (ICDS). Anganwadi Services Scheme is a universal scheme implemented across the country covering all habitats of the country including all backward districts. No doubt Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), launched in 1975, is a unique early childhood development programme, aimed at addressing malnutrition, health and also development needs of young children, pregnant and nursing mothers. ICDS consists of 4 different components, namely: 1. Early Childhood Care Education & Development (ECCED) 2. Care & Nutrition Counselling 3. Health Services 4. Community Mobilisation Awareness, Advocacy & Information, Education and Communication. In implementation of the ICDS scheme, convergence is brought in between many Central Ministries and their services are framed into the 4 different components of ICDS. The real status of the target beneficiaries of this scheme and the socio-economic status of the work force retained by government particularly, the Anganwadi Workers (AWWs)/ Asst Anganwadi Helpers ( AWWS) could be read from “2017- Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) Manual” for District- Level Functionaries .
The AWW is at the core of scheme and services to the beneficiaries are in a way delivered directly more by Anganwadi Worker so success of programme designed to capture even real time data on implementation &monitoring of AWSs across the country as also 5-tier monitoring & review mechanism designed by Government of India at the National/State/District/Block levels primarily depends on the AWW who leads the Anganwadi Centre (AWC ).In other words Anganwadi worker plays a role of bridge between the community and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). Regretfully Department of Women and Child Welfare has not been fair to the AWWs as regards to remunerations and their job security.
Surely it was on the basis of the terms of engagement of AWWs that Supreme Court of India in a ruling of December 7, 2006 in Civil Appeal No. 4853-4957 of 1998 – State of Karnataka & others vs. Ameerbi & others must have held that Anganwadi Workers/Helpers do not hold any civil post. In a written reply to a Lok Sabha question on February 7, 2020 Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani too had informed (i) that the Central Government is providing honorarium of Rs 4,500 per month to Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), Rs 3,500 per month to AWWs at mini-AWCs & Rs 2,250 per month to Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs). Even in Feb 2020 The Minister of Women and Child Development had also informed the Parliament on February 7, 2020 that (ii) there was no proposal under consideration to increase the honorarium of Anganwadi Workers (iii) Minister had also informed the Parliament that AWWs/AWHs are honorary workers who come forward to render their services on payment of monthly honorarium (iv) in view of the very nature of the role of Anganwadi Workers/Helpers, it is not feasible to declare them as regular/permanent employees (v) 14 Out of 16 recommendations /observations made by the Dr. Chandresh Kumari Committee have been implemented by the govt.{ Eighth Report 15thLok Sabha) of the Committee on Empowerment of Women on the subject “Working Conditions of Anganwadi Workers? pertaining to Ministry of Women & Child Development presented to Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha on 10/08/ 2011containing 16 observations/recommendation.
In addition to the Honorarium fixed in the basic scheme the State Governments / UTs are paying some additional honorarium / allowances also but that is not uniform and do not make the total adequate. To quote NCT Delhi said in Feb 2022 to have increased (including allowances) total payment to Anganwadi Workers from Rs. 9678 to Rs.12,720 / PM and for the Anganwadi Helper from Rs.4839 to Rs.6,810.As per private sources Rs 6,500 /pm are paid in Chhattisgarh to AWW ( need confirmation)..
Whereas from the AWWs almost full time involvement in time as well as commitment is expected {” 2017- Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) Manual for District- Level Functionaries .
One would ask why when some employees unions , political parties ( occasionally near elections), NGOs, Labour Unions are found appearing before media expressing support to very genuine demands of such a large ( Lok Sabha was informed on 30-07-2021 that as on 31-01-2021 there were 13,99,697 sanctioned / 13,87,432 operational Anganwari Centres in India where J&K had 30765 sanctioned/ 28460 operational Anganwari centres ) “47 year” old AWWs community/ programme Government has not put them in regular employment or they are not paid atleast the wages equivalent to a Jr Asst/Clerk in govt.departments? Surely the support is not “honest”. Social Voluntary mindset people too hence must study their plight.
Even if one takes the Grade as 5200-20200 GP 1800 ( Level-2 VII PC 19900-63200) and not 5200-20200 GP 2400 ( Level-4 VII PC 25500-81100) still minimum wages& allowances per month as on 01-07-2022 with 38% DA, 9 % HRA , Rs.900×1.38 TPA would be approximately Rs. 32485/pm (19900+DA 7562+ HRA 3781 + 1242 pm). Ofcourse there will be additional entitlement for Rs.2250 per child/pm as education allowance &Rs.6250 / child /pm Hostel subsidy allowance ( max 2 children).
Another question that could be asked is that when there is no job security , the honorarium paid is so ‘poor’, the working premises are not adequately equipped at many places , the job of AWW is nearly full time and AWW has to also do out of Anganwadi Premises duties on regular basis and lot of work of data collection and record keeping / reporting , then why often there is rush of applicants for seeking work on so low “honorarium” basis ( that too for the woman folk ) ? Are not both the AWWs and the beneficiaries not being properly looked after simply because there is lot economic distress ?
It was reported on 15 Jan 2021 quoting Director General Women and Child Development J&K, Mir Tariq Ali that pending salaries of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) working for ICDS of Social Welfare Department would be released within a week since The Central government had released funds ( which had been delayed due COVID19 pandemic ) for 29,599 operational AWCs ( out of total 31,398) to J&K Finance Department. Convener Jammu and Kashmir Anganwadi Workers, Helpers Union, Latifa Ganie was also quoted as having said that their honorarium was pending for seven months (Rs 4050/pm centre share plus Rs.1100/pm).
It could be hoped that the issues of the AWWs and the 1975- ICDS Programme of GOI would receive the 1st attention ofUnion Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani and LGs of both the UTs of J&K & Ladakh for taking them to logical conclusions but in the meantime atleast the Corpus Fund as suggested also by Bali Bhagat Ex Health Minister J&K will be installed immediately by LGs of two UTs so that the families of AWWs who do keep on working without ‘payments’ do not suffer which must be surely affecting the quality of the services that the AWWS are expected to deliver as Volunteers against a meagre “Honorarium”.
(The author is Sr Journalist, social activist and analyst J&K affairs [email protected]).