NHM staff await pending salaries, warn of protest if dues not cleared before Deepavali

With salaries pending for over two months, over 30,000 employees under the National Health Mission (NHM) have said they are being forced to celebrate Deepavali “in darkness.” The Karnataka NHM Contract and Outsourced Employees’ Association has warned of Statewide protests if their dues are not released before the festival.

Association president Srikanth Swamy said that while salaries have not been paid since August in most districts, in some, employees have been awaiting pay since July. “If the situation continues and salaries are not released before the festival, we will hold protests in front of all Deputy Commissioners’ offices across the State,” he said.

Pointing out that NHM staff draw modest salaries and cannot afford long delays, association’s honorary president Ayanur Manjunath questioned how employees could celebrate Deepavali without pay. “Low-paid NHM workers are struggling with rent and EMIs. They spent Dasara without salaries; now Deepavali too seems uncertain,” he said.

Karnataka Legislative Council member S.V. Sankanur met Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and senior officials, urging them to resolve the issue immediately and ensure timely disbursal of pending wages.

The Health Minister is learnt to have attributed the delay to technical issues in the K2 SPARSH payment system. “The Minister has said that the problem has been identified, and necessary steps are being taken to release grants to districts by next week,” the association members said in a statement.