ASHA workers demand ₹5,000 honorarium for election roll revision duties
On Monday, a delegation from the Karnataka State Joint ASHA Workers’ Association met with Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Ansu Kumar in Bengaluru to submit a memorandum demanding a fixed honorarium of ₹5,000 for ASHA workers deployed for election-related duties. The association raised concerns over unpaid work being assigned to these incentive-based healthcare workers for the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-2026 of electoral rolls.
According to the association, district administrations, Taluk Health Officers (THOs), and Tahsildars in several districts and taluks across Karnataka have issued official orders appointing ASHA workers as assistants for the voter list revision exercise. The association pointed out that these workers are not Booth Level Officers (BLOs) themselves, yet they are being deployed as additional staff to assist them.
The association highlighted that the official memorandum appointing the ASHA workers does not clearly mention any honorarium or financial compensation for the extra duties. Currently, ASHA workers are engaged under an incentive-based system and receive relatively low remuneration for delivering essential public health services.
The association has demanded a payment of ₹5,000 for each ASHA worker assigned to assist with the voter roll revision. It expressed deep concern that requiring these workers to carry out daily door-to-door visits for electoral data collection from June 30 to July 29, 2026, alongside their existing responsibilities, could adversely affect public health services.
At the grassroots level in both rural and urban areas, ASHA workers are responsible for critical healthcare services. These responsibilities include providing care for pregnant women, new mothers, and newborns, conducting immunisation drives, and implementing various government health programmes.
To prevent these services from being disrupted, the association has requested the authorities to allocate sufficient time and make suitable arrangements so that election duties do not clash with essential healthcare delivery.
Following the submission of the memorandum on Monday, Chief Electoral Officer Ansu Kumar assured the delegation that the matter would be examined.
