Haryana News: Good news has come for the rural watchmen of Haryana on the occasion of Dhanteras and Diwali. Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini has announced to increase the monthly honorarium of rural watchmen. Now the rural watchmen of the state will get an honorarium of Rs 15,221 every month instead of Rs 11,000. That means each watchman will get Rs 4,221 more every month. With this increase, they will get additional economic benefit of more than Rs 50 thousand annually. Apart from this, the government has also increased the allowances of Chowkidars and announced to provide them new social security facilities.
You will get honorarium of Rs 15,221 every month.
Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini made this announcement at the state level rural watchman felicitation ceremony organized in Panchkula. He said that the monthly honorarium given to rural watchmen has now been increased from Rs 11,000 to Rs 15,221. Accordingly, his annual honorarium will increase from Rs 1,32,000 to Rs 1,82,652. According to the Chief Minister, this increase will be implemented with immediate effect. He instructed the officials that the increased honorarium should reach the bank accounts of the watchmen before the 7th of every month.
Increase in uniform, essential items and cycle allowance also
The government has not only increased the monthly honorarium, but has also made changes in other allowances given to the watchmen. Now they will get Rs 5,000 for uniform every year instead of Rs 4,000. The annual allowance for essential items like sticks, torches, whistles and umbrellas has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. At the same time, cycle allowance has also been increased from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000.
Chowkidars and their families will get the benefit of ESI
Another important announcement has been made for rural watchmen. Now they will be brought under the ambit of Employees State Insurance i.e. ESI Scheme. Under this, watchmen and their family members will get treatment facilities in case of illness. Apart from this, they will also be able to get assistance under the scheme in case of accident or disability.
The Chief Minister also announced that all rural watchmen will be covered under the Haryana Labor Welfare Fund. With this, they will be able to get financial help under the government's welfare schemes for their children's education, marriage and other needs of the family.
Additional expenditure of Rs 27 crore on government every year
The Chief Minister said that by implementing all these announcements, the state government will incur an additional expenditure of about Rs 27 crore every year. He instructed the officials that the registration of watchmen in ESI Scheme and Labor Welfare Fund should be completed soon. District and block level officials have also been asked to keep an eye on the process.
In 2014, the honorarium of watchmen was Rs 3,500.
The Chief Minister said that in the year 2014, rural watchmen of Haryana used to get only Rs 3,500 monthly honorarium. It was increased to Rs 7,000 in September 2018 and to Rs 11,000 in February 2024. Now it has been increased to Rs 15,221. Chowkidars are already being given facilities like provident fund (PF), assistance of Rs 2 lakh on retirement and continuation of service till the age of 65 years to the eligible employees. Their families also get assistance under the Dayalu Scheme.
The Chief Minister appealed to the rural watchmen to pass on information about the sale of drugs in the villages to the administration and police. Also asked to cooperate in the safety of women, girls and the elderly and fulfill the responsibility of updating correct information on the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) portal.