The ASHAs are protesting for a monthly remuneration of ₹15,000

ASHAs are organizing a protest in Ballari on Thursday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Ballari on Thursday, demanding that the incentives and honorarium paid by the central and state governments be merged and fixed at a minimum of ₹15,000 per month.

The protest was organized as part of the nationwide ‘Protest Week’ held from October 5 to 11 under the leadership of ASHA Workers Association of Karnataka State, affiliated to AIUTUC. The workers took out a protest march from Gandhi Bhavan to the Deputy Commissioner’s office and staged a demonstration there.

Addressing the protestors, the association’s state secretary D. Nagalakshmi said that ASHAs had received a hike of only ₹ 1,500 in the last nine years and that their remuneration had not kept pace with the rising cost of living. According to her, the government should fulfill its earlier assurance regarding the increase in their remunerations.

She also alleged that ASHA has been facing delays in payment of incentives and honorariums for almost a year now, with outstanding incentive amounts yet to be released in several districts.

Ms. Nagalakshmi said ASHAs are also facing difficulties in doing mobile work as many of them have not received mobile phones and are facing technical problems, servers and connectivity issues. She said that workers are not against digitization, but basic equipment should be provided to them before they are completely dependent on mobile apps to record their work.

AIUTUC district president A. Devadas demanded that the incentives and honorarium paid by the central and state governments should be merged and fixed at ₹ 15,000 per month. He also asked for immediate payment of all pending incentives and timely release of monthly remuneration.

The organization warned that the agitation would intensify if the government did not intervene and address the demands.

The protesters submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and the Health Minister through the Deputy Commissioner. Their demands included immediate release of pending incentive payments and payment of outstanding amounts under various components.

They also demanded that the authorities stop allegedly forcing ASHAs to do work related to the Nikshay app unless they were assigned as per National Health Mission guidelines. They sought action to resolve issues related to the RCH portal, through which they said incentives were not credited in proportion to the work done.

Published – 8 Oct 2026 19:22 IST