Shillong, Aug 31: The All Meghalaya Mid-day Meal Workers on Wednesday decided to call off their sit-in demonstration after the education department assured to enhance their monthly honorarium/wages.
Speaking to media persons, adviser of the midday meal workers, K. L. Pariat said that the education department led by Commissioner Secretary of education, Dr. B.D.R Tiwari, and in the presence of the Director, Education Department, Ambrose Ch. Marak, had called them for a meeting to discuss their demands.
About the discussion in the meeting, Pariat said the department had shown them a proposal which was sent to the finance and planning department on August 11, 2022.
“In the proposal, the education department had directed the finance and planning department to enhance the monthly honorarium to cook cum helpers from Rs. 1000/-p.m. to Rs. 2000 for 18,776 cook cum helpers for the month of April 2022 to November 2022 and for the month of February 2023 to March 2023,” said Pariat.
He said that as per discussion with officials from the education department, it is learnt that the state government is in the process to enhance their honorarium to Rs. 2000 from the state budget but will not be able to pay for the month of December and January as it is not according to the guidelines of the PM Poshan scheme.
He added that once the cabinet approves the proposal, the midday meal cook in Meghalaya will receive Rs. 2000 from the state and Rs.1000 from the central funds and the state government will also look to address the demand for monthly payment of honorarium for 12 months.
When asked on the demand to provide LPG for preparing food for the students, he said the state government cannot provide cooking fuels or LPG as it’s not within the norms of the PM Poshan scheme but, at the same time, the government will initiate steps to provide LPG to only schools within the urban areas.
“As of now we will temporarily suspend our agitation and we will go back to our respective schools but at the same time we have given time to the state government to complete the process of enhancement till the last week of November 2022, failing which we will intensify the agitation in the month of December 2022,” added Pariat.
