Open Letter from Harish Rao to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy

Former Minister and Siddipet MLA Harish Rao has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Telangana state government's approach to the issue of mini Anganwadi workers' wages. In an open letter addressed to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Harish Rao demanded that the mini Anganwadi centres be recognized as full-fledged Anganwadi centres and that the increased wages promised to their workers be paid in full.

In his letter, Harish Rao stated that 3,989 mini Anganwadi workers across the state are serving with dedication in remote rural and tribal areas, catering to underprivileged communities. He noted that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had acknowledged their services and issued a Government Order (GO) on September 5, 2023, promoting them as Anganwadi workers. However, due to the enforcement of the election code at the time, the order could not be implemented.

Harish Rao mentioned that following the change in government, Seethakka assumed office as the Minister for Women and Child Welfare and made her first official signature recognizing the mini Anganwadi workers as full-fledged Anganwadi workers. He alleged that the Congress government merely re-issued the same GO initially announced by the BRS government for publicity purposes, attempting to derive political mileage.

According to Harish Rao, the government paid ₹13,650 per month to mini Anganwadi workers for three months—from January to March 2024—based on the Anganwadi pay scale. However, he criticized the subsequent reduction of their wages back to the mini Anganwadi scale of ₹7,800, claiming that the Congress government introduced a new precedent of reducing enhanced wages, something he remarked may not be seen in any other government in the country. He accused the administration of issuing the same GO twice merely for publicity, without ensuring justice to the workers.

He stated that pushing dedicated workers into financial distress by slashing their earnings and disrupting their families' well-being is deeply unjust. “They promised to make one crore women millionaires, to provide ₹2,500 per month to each woman, to turn women into entrepreneurs, and to offer ₹1 lakh crore in interest-free loans—but they have deceived the people,” Harish Rao alleged against the Congress government.