What a paradox it is! When Odisha is 7th poorest State in the country, its MlAs now have become 11th richest among the 36 States/Union Territories. The Chief Minister is, however, at a distant 17th rank but is among the top-20 richest CMs in the country courtesy the latest pay hike.
Now, an Odisha MlA would draw Rs 1 lakh per month and the CM would get nearly Rs 2 lakh that includes basic pay and associated perks.
In contrast, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, who on every Assembly session hold massive demonstrations pleading for pay hike, are the 6th poorest in the country as the honorarium they get from the State Government over and above the honorarium paid by the Centre is a mere Rs 1,000, which has not been increased since 2013.
The result: the Anganwadi Workers could draw around Rs 4,000 per month. The condition of Anganwadi Helpers is more wretched as the honorarium fixed by the State Government is only Rs 500 over a Rs 1,500-honorarium by the Centre.
This is an instance of creeping inequality, for which the lorenz ratio of Odisha derived by the National Sample Survey’s 66th and 68th rounds depicted a rise in inequality in urban areas though the ratio in rural areas has posted a marginal improvement courtesy the MGNREGA.
While the urgent rush for hike in the MlAs’ and CM’s perks is attributed to bringing a parity with the States nationally, prior to the current hike the Odisha MlAs were 13th richest whereas the CM was a poorer one with a 19th rank nationally.
Consider the case of Tamil Nadu where the late CM Jayalalithaa was known for drawing an honorary salary of just Rs 1. Tamil Nadu is the only State where Anganwadi Workers and Helpers are allotted a pay structure. An Anganwadi Worker in Tamil Nadu draws as much as around Rs 10,000 a month courtesy an honorarium worth Rs 6,750. An Anganwadi Helper draws around Rs 6,000.
Interestingly, the monthly salary a TN MlA draws now is around Rs 1,13,000 vis-a-vis Rs 1 lakh by his Odisha counterpart. And the new TN CM E Palaniswamy gets a salary of around Rs 2.05 lakh vis-a-vis nearly Rs 2 lakh of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.
Telangana, which now tops the country with the highest paid MlAs and CM, gives an honorarium of Rs 4,000 a month to an Anganwadi Worker over the Central honorarium of Rs 3,000.
Significantly, Anganwadi Workers are a State’s backbone in ensuring a State free from malnutrition and maternity and child mortality rates. But Odisha’s ruling class hardly lends ears to the fact.
The result: Odisha has poor education and nutrition indicators than Tamil Nadu and Telangana.