Amaravati, March 1 : The NDA government in Andhra Pradesh has announced gratuity for ASHA workers, enhanced the retirement age from 60 to 62 years and other sops.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday gave a green signal for payment of gratuity to ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers. Each of them will get Rs 1.5 lakh at the time of retirement after serving for 30 years.

Andhra Pradesh will be the first and only state in the country to pay gratuity to ASHA workers, said an official statement.

The government has also announced paid maternity leave for 180 days for the first two deliveries.

The sops will benefit 42,752 ASHA workers across the state. There are 37,017 workers in rural areas while 5,735 are serving in urban areas.

The Chief Minister gave approval for a series of sops during a review meeting of the health department.

The Chief Minister directed officials to study the salaries of ASHA workers, the facilities they are getting and related issues in other states to suggest modalities for payment of gratuity.

ASHA workers had long been demanding gratuity. Considering this, the Chief Minister decided to introduce the scheme.

According to an official release, they were not being paid wages during maternity leave but now the TDP-led coalition government decided to give them maternity leave for 180 days with wages for the first two deliveries. This step will benefit each of the ASHA workers availing maternity leave to the tune of Rs 60,000.

According to the release, even before 2019, it was Chandrababu Naidu who had taken several measures for the welfare of ASHA workers. In 2018, they were given smartphones for discharge of their work. Other measures included priority to those who are eligible to be appointed as ANMs, issuing ration cards, enhancing the retirement age to 60, and making them eligible for old age pension after retirement.

Andhra Pradesh government is paying Rs 10,000 salary to ASHA workers, which is the highest in the country. Those delivering similar services are being paid Rs 750 in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 2,000 in Himachal Pradesh, Rs 2,700 in Rajasthan, Rs 3,000 each in West Bengal and Delhi, Rs 4,000 each in Haryana and Karnataka, Rs 5,000 in Kerala, Rs 6,000 in Sikkim and Rs 7,500 in Telangana.

Health Minister Satya Kumar expressed happiness over the Chief Minister's decisions. He said the historic decisions reflect the Chief Minister's sincerity on issues related to the health department.

/IANS