The Chhattisgarh Pragatisheel Aniyamit Karmchari Federation has accused the state government of unofficially discontinuing the ‘Shram Samman Rashi’ scheme, leaving over 35,000 contractual and daily-wage workers without a monthly allowance of Rs 4,000. The federation claims that a June 5 directive from the treasury, referencing a 2024 finance department letter, has effectively stopped payments by restricting bill clearance for workers lacking formal appointment or work orders. Calling the move anti-worker and harmful amid rising inflation, the federation has demanded immediate restoration of the allowance and warned of a statewide democratic agitation if the order is not withdrawn.
Federation’s Strong Resentment
Federation state president Gopal Prasad Sahu expressed strong resentment against the state government for stopping the scheme. The scheme, implemented on August 1, 2023, guaranteed an additional monthly allowance of Rs 4,000 to unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled contractual and daily-wage labourers across various government departments. This allowance was paid on top of their regular monthly wages.
Treasury Directive Sparks Controversy
The controversy erupted after the senior treasury officer of the treasury at Indravati Bhawan in Nava Raipur issued a directive on June 5, 2026. The order explicitly instructed all Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) not to clear or submit allowance bills to the treasury without formal appointment or work orders, according to Sahu. The treasury cited a previous finance department letter dated June 26, 2024, which states that employees without explicit work orders are ineligible for the allowance.
Alleged Discontinuation Under Technicalities
Sahu said the state government is moving to abruptly end the scheme under the guise of technicalities without any official policy announcement. He pointed out that while inflation is rising, the wages and allowances of irregular employees remain stagnant, and halting this financial support directly hurts employee welfare.
Demand for Intervention
The federation has urged Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and the state finance minister to intervene immediately, resolve the confusion at the treasury level, and ensure the unconditional release of the allowance to all eligible daily-wage and collector-rate workers. The employees’ body has warned that if the misleading order is not revoked promptly, irregular employees will launch a massive democratic protest across the state. No government officials were available for comments when contacted.
