A social activist, Tambu Sangma, has alleged that ASHA workers and mothers are being deprived of benefits that they are entitled to by officials at the Dobu government health centre.
In a release, Sangma said that mothers who give birth in recognised health centres are entitled to benefits, including financial, under the centrally sponsored Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme but women who have been giving birth in the Dobu centre are not receiving them.
ASHA workers are also entitled to various benefits but are being denied them, Sangma, who based his claims on a Right to Information (RTI) request, said.
Although the benefits are being recorded as having been paid, Sangma said that ASHAs and “hundreds” of mothers that he has spoken to since 2015 said that they have not received the financial packages.
“It appears that doctors and officers of Dobu PHC never assure ASHAs about their prevailing incentives for their service. Instead, they tend to hide their incentives and treat them like servants in an inhuman manner,” Sangma added.
