Bihar Elections: Cabinet Raises ANM Workers’ Honorarium, Doubles Students’ Scholarship Ahead Of Polls

The Bihar government has increased the honorarium of contractual Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) workers in urban areas from Rs 11,500 to Rs 15,000 per month, and doubled the annual scholarship for students of Classes 9-10 to Rs 3,600, a senior official said. A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved a total of 129 proposals on Friday, including establishment of a film and theatre institute.

Assembly elections are due in the state this year. Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the cabinet department, Arvind Kumar Choudhary, said after the meeting that the honorarium of contractual ANM workers in urban areas was raised to Rs 15,000 per month, with a provision for a 5 per cent annual increment to strengthen the vaccination drive.

The cabinet also gave its nod for an increase in the annual scholarship for students of Classes 9 and 10 belonging to the general category (including minorities) under the 'Mukhyamantri Balak/Balika Scholarship' scheme.

The amount was doubled from Rs 1,800 to Rs 3,600 per student. This will result in an additional annual expenditure of around Rs 99.21 crore, Choudhary said. He said that the cabinet has approved the establishment of the Bihar Film and Theatre Institute to fill the gap in institutional training in theatre and film education in the state. To promote tourism infrastructure, Choudhary said, approval was given for a five-star hotel, which will be built on 3.24 acres of land at Bankipore bus stand in Patna.

Towards this, the cabinet decided to issue the Letter of Award to the successful bidder, a Kolkata-based private firm. Additionally, an Ahmedabad-based company was appointed the chief consultant for the integrated development of Gaya’s Vishnupad temple area, modelled on Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.

"For women’s safety and rehabilitation, the Cabinet decided to convert short-stay homes under the 'Mukhyamantri Nari Shakti Yojana' into Shakti Sadan centres, where women in distress, including victims of human trafficking, will receive shelter and support under one roof," Choudhary said.

The ACS told reporters that the cabinet has selected the common service centre (CSC) E-Governance Services India Ltd, a special purpose vehicle, to simplify annual life certification for pensioners. This will enable pensioners to complete the process of certification free of cost at their nearest CSC kiosks.

Earlier on Friday, the Bihar government announced an additional 3% dearness allowance for employees and pensioners, raising it from 55% to 58%, ahead of Diwali and Chhath.