CM hikes pay of mid-day meal cooks

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday increased the monthly remuneration of cooks and helpers preparing mid-day meals in schools from Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,000.

The decision will benefit 1.10 lakh cooks and helpers working in 55,000 schools, a CMO release said, adding Rs 74 crore will be spent annually in this regard.

The beneficiaries will get the enhanced remuneration retrospectively from October 2023. Naveen also announced that an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh will be given to the next of kin of the cooks and helpers in case of their death during job tenure.

Naveen also approved a proposal to increase the assistance towards the annual contingent expenditure of Krushak Sathis, appointed in all the gram panchayats to make farmers aware of government schemes and modern farm technologies.

The government increased the assistance towards the annual contingent expenditure of Krushak Sathis from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000, a CMO release said, adding that around 13,600 Krushak Sathis will be benefited.

In 2007-08, the State had appointed the leading farmers of the districts as Krushak Sathis. At least two Krushak Sathis were selected from each panchayat.

Simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held in Odisha this year.