Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Monday said the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) workers, who are staging their ongoing taking rest at home protest, are being provided with adequate remunerations.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting chaired by the chief minister, Lyngdoh said, “We as a government feel that after due diligence that their (ASHAs) remunerations are adequate in nature.”
She said there are ASHAs who get up to Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 remuneration with every month engagement.
She said that ASHAs are not directly under the government’s purview as they are part of the village health councils (VHCs). They are the key players along with the dorbars, who ensure that villages across the state of Meghalaya are monitored productively as far as health indexes are concerned. Therefore, if anyone of these people failed in their duties, you will have a life threatening casualty.
The minister also appealed to the ASHAs to withdraw their ongoing agitation. She said, “We request the ASHAs to go back and contribute efficiently under the supervision of the local dorbars. The VHCs today in the services of the sub centres that we have recently increased in the state of Meghalaya will be the key linkages to the department of health in its administration of services for better health for the people and the population of the state of Meghalaya.”
Further, the minister also maintained that it is not up to the state government to decide on enhancing the ASHAs’ remunerations as there is a formula for the entire country.
“If somebody feels this oppression that they are asking me to do too many assignments, we need to change, we need to get more remunerations – it is not up to us. There is a formula for the entire country. This is what the entire country does, correct. ASHAs likely will have smaller population in the state of Meghalaya because our population is also not as big as other states but in the given context, ASHAs contribute leisure time to the system. ASHAs cannot be expected to abandon all other responsibilities and work this particular assignment alone.”