Odisha Garima Scheme 2020 for Safety, Dignity of Sanitation Workers

Welfare Schemes | By Rajkumar

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Garima Scheme for safety and dignity of core sanitation workers engaged in core sanitation services in urban areas of the state on 11 September Friday. The scheme aim to benefit around 20,000 core sanitation members comprising total around 1 lakh population residing across 114 urban local bodies in the state.

The Garima Scheme will be implemented by the Housing & Urban Development Department through ULBs of Odisha. A Rs.50 crore corpus fund will be constituted for education, health and housing needs of kin sanitation workers. Sanitation workers have been at the bottom of the social and economic ladder who suffer from untold miseries and huge social stigma.

CM Naveen said launching the scheme is a humble tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary, who had fought throughout his life for the rights equality and social dignity of this underprivileged people. The Chief Minister also lauded the contribution on the sanitation workers in the fight against COVID-19.

Odisha Garima Scheme 2020

As the nation is making leap in various sectors and is competing with the best in the word. But even in this growing world, the safety and dignity of manual scavengers is still not ensured. These underprivileged people were to render this invaluable service to the society for generations and were deprived of safety, dignity and a decent livelihood and also suffers from suffering social stigma and exclusion. So to correct this injustice to core sanitation workers, the state govt. has decided to launch Odisha Garima Scheme 2020.

Under the scheme, the state government will take out a state-wide survey and identification of sanitation workers engaged in core sanitation works including those in the private sector. The scheme assures introduction of special wage, introduction of risk and hardship allowance, provision of health for house construction and purchasing 2 wheelers, provision of personal protective equipment, ex-gratia in case of accident and injury and provisions of EPF, ESI and family pension among others.

Odisha Garima Scheme 2020 Benefits for Sanitation Workers.

The Odisha govt. will provide several benefits to core sanitation workers in the Garima Scheme which are as follows:

  • Skill Improvement and training
  • Counselling Support for new skills
  • Financial Support for alternative livelihood
  • Health and life insurance
  • Disability support
  • Periodic health check-ups
  • Housing support
  • Educational support
  • Mobile support
  • Introduction of Special Category of wages for core sanitation work
  • Introduction of Risk and Hardship Allowance
  • Financial assistance to families in an event of accident or injury
  • Financial support in form of House Grant
  • Purchase of 2 wheelers to extent of 90% of cost
  • Access to EPF benefits
  • Retirement benefits
  • Post Service benefits
  • Illness allowance

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