The Centre of Indian Trade Unions-led Noon Meal Scheme Workers’ Union has decided to take on the Union and State governments following a cut in the allocation of funds for the scheme.
Over one crore noon meal scheme workers across the country were hit hard by the Narendra Modi government's decision to slash the budgetary support to the scheme to ₹15,000 crore this year from ₹18,000 crore in the previous year at a time when the requirement was to the tune of ₹36,000 crore to run the scheme effectively, CITU State vice-president K. Swaroop Rani told the media here on Saturday.
Replacement of the Planning Commission with NITI Ayog had resulted in cut for social sectors, including health and education, she said, adding that the workers would lay siege to the offices of the district Collectors across the State on June 19 to register their protest against the ‘anti-labour’ BJP-TDP combine.
‘Funds diverted’
Accusing the Chandrababu Naidu government of diverting the allocations made by the Centre for the scheme, she said the workers had not been paid for six to seven months. Rubbing salt into the wound, the State government decided to hand over the scheme to private players. “Instead of creating one crore jobs as promised during elections, the ruling TDP threw out of employment mid-day meal workers and also Anganwadi workers, mostly widows,” she charged.
She urged the State government to hike the monthly pay of Anganwadi workers to ₹10,000 as in Telangana.
It was unfortunate that the ruling TDP had compelled these workers in the State to take part in the Nava Nirmana Deeksha, used as a platform for boasting by the Chandrababu Naidu government, she said.
