New Delhi

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday raised concerns in the Rajya Sabha over the continued distress faced by women workers implementing key government programmes, including ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and helpers, and community resource persons under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

Drawing the attention of the House, Gandhi said these initiatives were conceived as instruments of women’s empowerment but the workers delivering them remained “overburdened and underpaid” despite their critical role in public service delivery.

She said ASHA workers across the country are engaged in immunisation, mobilisation, maternal health and family welfare activities, yet continue to be treated as volunteers with low honorarium and limited social security.

Referring to Anganwadi workers and helpers, Gandhi said they receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 4,500 and Rs 2,250 respectively from the Union government.

She also highlighted staffing shortages in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), noting that nearly three lakh vacancies exist at various levels, adversely affecting service delivery for children and mothers. Even when posts are filled, she said, they fall short of population norms due to the absence of updated census data since 2011.

The Congress leader urged the government to work with states to fill all vacancies, ensure timely payment of remuneration, enhance the Centre’s contribution to wages, appoint an additional ASHA worker in villages with populations above 2,500, and increase the number of Anganwadi workers to enable early childhood education alongside nutrition and health services.

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“Strengthening and supporting this workforce is an investment in India’s future,” she said.