New Year gift for Asha, mid-day meal workers! THIS state announces Rs 124 crore bonanza

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi has announced a fixed monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 for Asha workers.

New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi, on Thursday (December 30), announced a fixed monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 for Asha workers against the earlier amount got by them on the basis of incentives. The state government has also increased the fixed allowance of about 42,500 mid-day meal workers. 

The state government will spend a total of Rs 124.25 crore for Asha and mid-day meal workers as a New Year gift. The move to benefit nearly 22,000 Asha workers will cost about Rs 60 crore to the state exchequer. 

Moreover, Asha workers would also be now entitled to the facility of a cashless health insurance scheme up to Rs 5 lakh. The state government will bear the cost of the treatment against the probable risk of contracting infectious diseases while performing their duty.

On the other hand, the move to increase the minimum income of 42,500 mid-day meal workers working in 19,700 government and aided schools will lead to an additional expenditure of Rs 64.25 crore on the state exchequer, an official statement said.

Channi has also announced all the Asha workers and mid-day meal workers working across the state would be now entitled for full maternity leave on the pattern of other women government employees on a regular basis, IANS reported. 

The chief minister also declared that all Asha workers and mid-day meal workers would now get the hiked fixed allowance from January 1, 2022. He also announced that the workers would get these allowances for 12 months instead of 10 months earlier. Also Read: Sensex, Nifty edge down; RIL tumbles nearly 2%

Channi, who was addressing a public rally predominantly comprising Asha and mid-day meal workers, specially assembled in Chamkaur Sahib in Ropar district, said that the founder of Sikhism raised a voice against the maltreatment and discrimination meted out to the women in society and emphasised the need for giving equality to them. Also Read: Link Aadhaar with PM Jan Dhan Yojana Bank Account, get benefits upto Rs 1.3 lakh --Here is how to do it