Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced hike in emoluments of cooks and assistants engaged for preparing midday meals (MDM) in government schools.
As per the announcement, the monthly emolument of the cooks and their assistants has been increased from Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,000 per month.The increased emoluments will be paid with retrospective effect from October 2023, a release from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.
As many as 1.10 lakh cooks and assistants working in 55,000 schools will benefit from the hiked emoluments.
The new announcement will cost Rs 74 crore annually to the state exchequer.
Besides, the government will pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the family of a cook or an assistant in case of their death in service.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced a financial package of Rs 117.73 crore for cooks and their assistants engaged in government schools for the preparation of midday meals. The package also includes a saree allowance of Rs 500 for each of them.
Around 1.09 lakh women cooks and assistants from 4,730 Mission Shakti groups in 50,862 schools across the state will benefit from the assistance.
