More than two years after retirement, anganwadi assistant continues to wait for settlement

Mysuru: It has been more than two-and-a-half years since Nagamma retired as an Anganwadi assistant, and her plans of opening a fixed deposit with the money she was rightfully owed on superannuation are no closer to fruition than they were when she hung up her boots. As Nagamma continues to wait for her retirement benefits, which constitutes Rs 30,000, she is making ends meet by working as an agricultural labourer.
Anganwadi assistants are owed a sum of Rs 30,000 on retirement, while the sum is Rs 50,000 for anganwadi workers. Nagamma had hoped to stow away the sum she was entitled to in a bank as an investment for her future, which would have significantly reduced the fear that her uncertain present evokes in her. Both her sons work in Bengaluru, and Nagamma lives alone in Kundanahalli in Periyapatna taluk.
Besides her Ashraya home, Nagamma owns no other property, and as the wait for her retirement money continues, she is growing increasingly worried. “I had hoped to be paid the money in two to three months after my retirement,” said Nagamma, reeling off the names of three other colleagues who were paid the sum on time.
For nearly two years, she has been running from pillar to post to get what she believes is her entitlement, but to no avail. “All my efforts have gone in vain. I am feeling utterly helpless,” said Nagamma.
However, although some of Nagamma’s acquaintances have received their retirement settlement, hers is not an isolated incident. More than 25 anganwadi assistants and workers who have retired in the past two years across the district are yet to receive their settlement.
Sunanda H, general secretary for the Karnataka Anganwadi Workers’ Association, did not hide her disappointment with the state government, for its abrupt decision to stop providing benefits by rolling out a new pension scheme in its stead. “But, this new initiative has hardly benefited a few people. The one-time retirement settlement for anganwadi workers and assistants was stopped in April 2016, with the announcement of the new scheme,” Sunanda rued.
Pointing out that workers and assistants who had crossed 55 by 2011 had been exempted from the pension scheme rolled out in ’16, Sunanda said, “Consequently, these employees are stuck in the middle, and they can do nothing but wait. They are forced to struggle because of the apathetic attitude of the officials concerned. Files are moving up the rungs at a snail’s pace, delaying payment to workers. In April and May, all the officials cited election duty, and as a result, not a single file was moved.”
Nagamma’s neighbour Shivanna, who is growing increasingly annoyed with the state government’s failure to fulfil its obligations to its employees, said, “Nagamma worked to ensure the implementation of education and health schemes in Mysuru, but the government is dragging its feet when the time has come to disburse her benefits. Nagamma has no source of major income, which she can rely on to lead a decent life. Officials in the women and child welfare department are giving evasive replies when we seek answers for the delay in payment of her retirement settlement.”
An official in the women and child welfare department admitted to the problem, adding that hundreds of workers were waiting for their settlement. “But this is a problem that can be resolved only by the government,” said the official.