SHILLONG, Nov 22: The State government on Wednesday turned down the demand of the ASHA workers to enhance their fixed honorarium from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 and instead decided to introduce a new scheme to be called the Community based Health Incentive (CHI) to address the grievances faced by them in terms of transportation expenditures and others.

The decision was conveyed by the Minister in-charge Health and Family Welfare Ampareen Lyngdoh during a meeting convened with a delegation of the Meghalaya Accredited Social Health Activist Workers Union (MASHAWU).

Speaking to reporters, Lyngdoh said, “We have brought (the proposal) before the chief minister in a meeting held yesterday and today and we have decided to come up with a new scheme that will take care of the expenditures (incurred by the ASHAs when transporting a patient to a health facility).
We will introduce the Community based Health Incentive (CHI) to address their demands.”

“This is a new component that we feel needs to be provided to ASHAs. They will include expenditures of ASHAs under the various heads like POL, include assistance to ASHAs, who are working very well and has reduced maternal and infant deaths,” she said.

Stating that CHI scheme is community based, Lyngdoh said, “It will be hand in hand with other partners in the system, who will create this game changer for the state of Meghalaya and for the people of the state.”

The minister also announced that a committee will also be constituted at the district level to address grievances of ASHA workers.

“This committee will be in all probability at a district level because it will be difficult to pull people from various districts to come and conglomerate in one centre, not practical. Different dorbars have different problems,” she said while adding “So we will allow these committees to be formed at a district level and these are the committees that should attend to the ASHA workers. Certification is very important and all ASHAs have to report to the village health council of whom they are part and parcel of.”

When asked, the minister said, “We have agreed now to come to an understanding that ASHAs are investing time in the community to improve health indicators but there are still some components of their contribution to the system, which require the attention of the government. The first requirement is ASHAs very often have to pay for transportation because when a patient is brought to a facility, the return of the ASHA has to be borne by the ASHAs themselves.Then there are situations where ASHAs have been handholding patients, they cannot claim an incentive only because a patient goes to a private institution. So now we have said that is not fair. Whether they go to a private institution or whether they go to a government facility, payments/incentives to ASHAs should be clearly given to them.”

“The other thing is that ASHAs are saying that they have not even got fixed incentives, maybe there is a systemic gap. So in order to look at all these problems of the ASHAs, government cannot handhold this at the level of a minister as it is not practical,” she said.

Health care services in over 7,000 villages have been affected in view of the indefinite strike by the ASHA workers for the past 17 days, as a mark of protest against the government’s indifferent attitude towards the demand to enhance their fixed honorarium from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.

With regards to this demand, the minister said, “We are saying that if ASHAs are an important component in the system, we will talk to them but there is a limit to this talk. 20 months ago, there was a dialogue. Everything was okay. 20 months after, again you meet us and again there is protest. We would like to see that this does not happen.”

Also referring to the pay commission in the case of hiking the salary of government servants, Lyngdoh said, “There should be some justification everytime you ask for your increments. Look at government servants. A pay commission in the government of Meghalaya doesn’t happen very often like other central government organizations yet people are working.”

“In the same manner we look at it in that perspective so that there is no undue demand which will not be justified to the Chief Minister who heads the state of Meghalaya takes care of the state’s coffer. The exchequer should not feel a strain and drain by these components of workers,” she added.

Asking the ASHA workers to give only 6 hours of their free time, not everyday, the minister said, “We have ANMs who are supporting us in the village, we have the mid level health workers, who are also supporting us in the system. Everybody do your work, don’t burden these ASHAs, who are volunteers. And we hope that our state alongside this expenditure, see the corresponding improvement in health indicators.”

“Chief Minister sends his greetings to all ASHAs, whether you are protesting, whether you are continuously working quitely and do your work, we appreciate what you are doing and we want to be seen as a government which is sensitive to the people’s requirements,” she said adding, “We will take this in the correct spirit. Incorrect words will be said in anger if anything has been said by any government machinery including me, who represents this department forgive but do not create these pressures for us which instigate us to react in a certain manner which again can be very unfortunate.”

Meanwhile, the minister urged all ASHA workers to resume their work from tomorrow on ground that the system needs them.

“Don’t allow the government to take decisions, which will be detrimental to your service,”she also warned.

Also Read: Conrad calls for fixing historical errors, simplifying trade & connectivity with NE’s neighbouring nations

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