School and Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra has written a letter to Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakadh Javadekar seeking enhancement in the honorarium of cook-cum-helpers working under the Midday Meal (MDM) programme.
In the letter, Patra stated that the cook-cum-helpers in the State are currently getting an honorarium of Rs 1,000 per month while they have been demanding an increase in it for a long time. Hence, the State Government has decided to enhance the honorarium from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and has already released its enhanced share of Rs 400 (40%) with effective from January 2018.
Patra requested the HRD Minister to take steps to release the Government of India’s enhanced 60% share.
“The State Government has decided to enhance the honorarium from Rs 1000 to Rs 2,000 per month subject to proportional enhancement in the Government of India share (60%),” the letter stated.