Uttar Pradesh raises pay for panchayat assistants after protests
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The Uttar Pradesh government in India increased the monthly pay of over 57,000 panchayat assistants from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 after they protested in Lucknow.
Panchayati Raj Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar announced the 50 percent raise following discussions with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The government also agreed to reinstate assistants who had been removed for participating in the protest and to drop any charges filed against them during the demonstrations.
Previously, these workers experienced delays in receiving their salaries, sometimes waiting six to seven months for payment. To address this, the government will now deposit salaries directly into assistants’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer. Additionally, the minister stated that panchayat secretaries will no longer have the power to remove assistants, with decisions about removal now resting with a committee led by the district magistrate.
The government extended benefits to female assistants by granting them maternity leave and providing cashless healthcare for all assistants and their families. Following these announcements, the protesting panchayat assistants ended their sit-in.
