Thiruvananthapuram: The honorarium and festival allowance for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Kerala have been disbursed ahead of Onam for the first time, Health, Family Welfare and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan said. He added ASHA workers would have an Onam without any pending honorarium.

The government has paid ₹12,000 as the August honorarium and ₹1,450 as the festival allowance to each ASHA worker. It has released a total of ₹33.54 crore for ASHA workers across the state, including ₹29.93 crore towards honorariums and ₹3.61 crore towards festival allowances.

“In previous years, ASHA workers received the honorarium for the preceding month around Onam. This year, although Onam arrived before the end of August, the government has paid the full honorarium without any conditions before the festival,” Muraleedharan said.

The minister said the government had prioritised addressing frontline health workers' concerns and removing hurdles to the timely disbursement of honorariums and other benefits.

The payment comes after the UDF government raised the monthly ASHA honorarium from ₹9,000 to ₹12,000, an increase of ₹3,000. The hike was announced at the new government's first Cabinet meeting, fulfilling a key promise to frontline health workers.

The government has also removed performance-linked conditions that had prevented some ASHA workers from receiving their full honorarium.

ASHA workers had staged a prolonged indefinite strike in front of the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram last year, demanding higher wages, retirement benefits and formal recognition as workers.