Maha announces Rs 1,000 wage-rise, Rs 500 Covid-19 allowance for Asha workers

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday announced that Asha workers will get an increment of Rs 1000 in their wages and Rs 500 as Covid19 allowance per month from July besides a smartphoneAfter the announcement which will benefit more than 68000 such community health activists Asha workers withdrew their weeklong protest which they had launched in support of various demands including a wage hikeThe kin of Asha workers who have died due to Covid19 will get a compensation of Rs 50 lakh the minister saidAlso Read All hopes on ASHA if Covid19 third wave strikesAccredited Social Health Activists ASHA are contractual workers hired to implement a slew of government schemes chiefly of the health departmentSpeaking to reporters Tope said ldquoMaharashtras Asha workers will get an expensive smartphone for their work along with an increment of Rs 1000 per month They will also get Rs 500 per month as Covid19 allowance on top of the incrementrdquoThis means Asha workers will get Rs 1500 more per month from July the minister saidAsha group monitors will get an increment of Rs 1200 and Rs 500 as Covid19 allowance he saidThere are 71137 sanctioned posts of Asha workers in the state of which 68297 seats are filled Tope saidGroup heads of Asha workers who monitor their daily functioning will get a permanent increment of Rs 1200 per month apart from a Covid19 allowance of Rs 500 he saidAsha workers will get another increment of Rs 500 from July 2022 he addedThe state would spend Rs 202 crore annually to absorb the hike in increment and allowance said the ministerAsha workers helping at vaccination centres to manage crowds will get an additional Rs 200 allowance he saidldquoThe family members of Asha workers who have died due to Covid19 will get a compensation of Rs 50 lakh The data compilation work is going on and the government is trying to settle such claims at the earliestrdquo Tope saidTheir family members will also get free Covid19 treatment at staterun hospitals he addedAsha workers who assist pregnant women to get admitted in district Covid19 hospitals will get Rs 200 as a special allowance and shelter will be provided to them at such hospitals said the ministerThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever