Ahead of polls, Odisha hikes remuneration of ASHA workers from Rs 4,500 to Rs 7,000

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the Lok Sabha and Odisha assembly polls, the state government on Thursday hiked the monthly remuneration of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) from Rs 4,500 to Rs 7,000.

Additionally, the state government increased the service exit incentive amount for ASHA workers from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The decision is expected to benefit 49,522 ASHA workers in the state, the CMO said in a statement.

The state government estimates an additional annual expenditure of Rs 148.57 crore due to the increased remuneration of ASHA workers. With this adjustment, the total expenditure towards ASHA workers' remuneration will amount to Rs 209 crore annually, along with an additional Rs 55 lakh towards payment of exit incentives, it said.

ASHA workers are engaged in creating awareness among women. "They have successfully created awareness about various government schemes meant for pregnant and postpartum women. They have been contributing to vaccination and institutional delivery as well in the state," the release said.

Earlier, on February 29, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced an increase in the monthly remuneration of Anganwadi workers from Rs 7,500 to Rs 10,000, along with an increase in the exit incentive from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh.