Shimla, August 14: Around 3,200 mid-day meal workers employed in government schools across Shimla district have been awaiting their honorarium for the past three months, with the delay causing financial difficulties for workers and their families.
The Mid-Day Meal Association has urged the state government to release the pending payments at the earliest, warning that prolonged non-payment could force workers to launch a protest.
Association president Preeti Thakur, along with Rajlila, Anil Verma, Janaki Devi, Sulakshana and Yojana, said many workers depend heavily on their monthly honorarium to meet household expenses, educate their children and manage daily needs.
Thakur said mid-day meal workers receive an honorarium of ₹5,500 per month, which she described as inadequate given their responsibilities. She said withholding even this modest amount for three months had placed workers under severe financial strain.
“Workers prepare and serve meals to schoolchildren every day, but many of them are now struggling to meet their own families’ basic needs,” the association said.
Thakur also alleged that workers were increasingly being assigned duties beyond their primary responsibility of preparing mid-day meals and managing school kitchens. These reportedly include cleaning school water tanks and maintaining kitchen gardens, without any additional honorarium or benefits.
She warned that if the pending payments were not released soon, workers would be left with no option but to launch an agitation.
Meanwhile, the Block Elementary Education Officer, Mashobra, said the pending honorarium would be released soon once the required budget was received.
