PATNA, 30 JULY

Ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday announced that ASHA workers in the state will now get Rs 3,000 per month as an incentive, a substantial increase from the existing amount of Rs 1,000.

He also doubled the incentive of 'Mamta' health workers from Rs 300 per delivery.

In a post on X, Kumar said, "Since the formation of the government in November 2005, we have worked extensively to improve health services. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and 'Mamta' workers have played a significant role in enhancing health services in rural areas."

ASHA workers will now be provided with "an incentive amount of Rs 3,000 instead of Rs 1,000", he said.

'Mamta' workers will now get an incentive amount of Rs 600 per delivery, up from the existing Rs 300, the CM added.

Reacting to CM’s announcement, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said he had initiated the process of increasing the incentive amount for ASHA and 'Mamta' workers during his 17-month tenure as the state health minister.

"This enhanced incentive amount will boost their morale and strengthen health services in rural areas," he said.

The decision to increase their incentives was taken because of the contributions of ASHA and 'Mamta' workers to strengthen health services in rural areas, the CM wrote on social media.

ASHA workers are at the base of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) pyramid.

In order to provide effective medical services to the rural population, the NRHM proposed the introduction of female health workers at the village level for every 1000 population, an official said.

'Mamta' workers are contractual health activists in maternity wards of government hospitals to take care of newborns and their mothers, he said.

ASHA workers are intended to facilitate access to health services, mobilise communities to realise health rights and access entitlements and provide basic community-level care, the official added.

Yadav, in a post on X, said, “During my 17-month tenure as health minister, I had initiated the process of increasing the incentive amount for ASHA and 'Mamta' workers, which was in its final stage, but then the CM, as usual, took the U-turn (formed government with BJP)."

He also alleged, "This incompetent NDA government had been sitting on it (proposal to increase incentive) for two years. Finally, they had to bow down to our demand and increase the incentive amount for ASHA and Mamta workers”.

The government has not fully implemented the RJD's demand, he claimed.

"Now, this government will have no choice but to accept our demand to increase the honorarium of Anganwadi workers/assistants and cooks as well. During our short 17-month tenure, we had increased the honorarium for Vikas Mitra, Shiksha Mitra/Tola Sevak, Talimi Markaz, and Panchayati Raj representatives," the RJD leader said.

Tejashwi claimed that the government is "simply copying our ideas and demands out of fear".

"This visionless government will be wiped out in the coming assembly polls. For the last 20 years, were they just peeling peanut shells? The same government, its leaders, ministers, and officials, who used to mock our announcements, are now scared of the results. They know that they will be thrown out by the electors. Will you just keep copying Tejashwi, or will you use your brains for once?” Yadav asked.