Ludhiana: Anganwadi workers protest for better pay, allowances

Anju Mehta, general secretary of the district union, also criticised the AAP government in the state for “not keeping its promise” to double the state’s share for anganwadi workers

Around 1,600 anganwadi workers from the district staged protests across 16 blocks in support of their long-pending demands, including monthly remuneration and allowances, on Thursday. Members of the Anganwadi Mulazim Union Punjab CITU criticised the central government’s policies, claiming they are harming the effectiveness of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme.

Anganwadi workers staging protest in Ludhiana on Thursday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Anju Mehta, general secretary of the district union, also criticised the AAP government in the state for “not keeping its promise” to double the state’s share for anganwadi workers. “We still receive only ₹6,000 from the state, not the doubled amount we were promised, and ₹4,500 from the Centre, which is often delayed by months,” she said. She highlighted that the anganwadi centres haven’t received funds since March to pay for the rented spaces.

Mehta, while referring to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), said one-third of the children under 5.5 years are underweight, undernourished or stunted. Additionally, 57% of women, 59.1% of young girls, 52.2% of pregnant women and 67.1% of children under six years of age suffer from anaemia. “Nearly nine lakh children below 6 die every year in our country,” she added.

The protesters also criticised the government’s implementation of the Poshan Tracker, a system requiring anganwadi workers to submit daily data about children’s nutrition and education. Initially, Aadhaar of a child or parent was required for eligibility, but now even a child’s face ID is mandated to seek nutrition and pre-school education from anganwadi centres, making it harder for many to benefit from the services. District unit’s general secretary Anju Mehta said migrants are hesitant to share their Aadhaar details, fearing digital fraud.

Workers also expressed concern over the decline in children’s height after the Covid-19 period. “These policies are not helping the children, rather, are acting as obstacles,” Mehta said.

The workers also demanded mobile phones and reimbursement for mobile data to update the Poshan Tracker, as promised by the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development. “Six years have passed since the tracker was initiated. We have received neither mobile phones nor data reimbursement,” said Asha Rani, a state member of the union and block president of urban-3. She added that there are a number of demands for which the workers have been protesting for months now but the government is least bothered.

The workers submitted demand letters to Child Development Project Officers in each block, but their concerns remain unresolved. To show their anger, they burned central government notifications during the protest.