Karnataka to Double Pourakarmika Breakfast Allowance to ₹70; DK Shivakumar Announces Poura Bhavan, Residential Schools for Workers’ Children
Bengaluru: Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday announced a series of welfare measures for pourakarmikas, including doubling their breakfast allowance from ₹35 to ₹70, plans to begin construction of a dedicated Poura Bhavan within the next few months and residential schools for their children on the Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) model.
Shivakumar also announced the formation of a Cabinet sub-committee to examine and address demands concerning pourakarmika welfare, including issues relating to their board, welfare measures and welfare fund.
The Chief Minister made the announcements while inaugurating the Pourakarmika Day programme at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru.
Later, Shivakumar joined pourakarmikas for a meal at the venue.
Breakfast Allowance to Rise From ₹35 to ₹70
Shivakumar said an order increasing the breakfast allowance for pourakarmikas from the existing ₹35 to ₹70 would be issued shortly.
He also announced an increase in allowances for pourakarmikas, saying the government recognised their indispensable role in keeping cities and towns clean.
Describing pourakarmikas as workers who find dignity in labour and as the driving force behind the cleanliness of cities, Shivakumar said society could not remain healthy without their work.
He urged workers not to feel inferior because of their occupation and instead take pride in the public service they perform.
“Without you, metropolitan cities and towns cannot remain clean,” he said.
Government Promises Regularisation of Remaining Workers
Shivakumar said thousands of pourakarmikas had been regularised after the government came to power despite various pressures and promised that the remaining workers would also be regularised.
He also referred to workers associated with BWSSB and water-supply departments and said the government was committed to enabling them to live with dignity through regular employment.
The Chief Minister said the government was aware that without pourakarmikas, cities would turn into dumping grounds, while their work keeps roads and urban areas clean.
He said the workers should be treated with dignity as “ambassadors of cleanliness” and that ensuring their health was a commitment of the government.
Cabinet Sub-Committee to Examine Pourakarmika Demands
Shivakumar announced that a Cabinet sub-committee would be constituted to examine issues concerning pourakarmikas.
He said matters concerning their board, welfare, welfare fund and other demands required attention and would be examined through a committee involving the Social Welfare and Urban Development departments, among others.
He said MLA K.S. Basavanthappa would also be involved in the process and that decisions would be taken after securing the confidence of the Finance Department.
Shivakumar said the government had created the Praja Seva Department to address such problems and told pourakarmikas that they did not need organisational intermediaries to bring their concerns to the government.
He said K.H. Muniyappa, H.C. Balakrishna, Yathindra Siddaramaiah and Basavanthappa had communicated workers’ issues to him.
CM Flags Internal Problems in Workers’ Organisations
The Chief Minister also referred to problems within organisations representing pourakarmikas.
He said he had asked Basavanthappa to explain the problems occurring within their organisations and had been informed that some office-bearers themselves were creating obstacles to regularisation of workers.
Shivakumar said he had asked for the issue to be raised publicly so that workers remained aware of developments affecting them.
He said he was issuing directions to officials from the programme itself.
The Chief Minister also said that while a large proportion of workers discharged their responsibilities honestly, there were problems involving some workers, including indiscipline and inappropriate behaviour towards women, and said such issues would also be addressed.
Government Cites Regularisation of 12,609 Pourakarmikas
Shivakumar said the Congress government had taken a series of steps to provide job security to pourakarmikas.
He recalled that 10,000 pourakarmikas had been recruited in 2017.
After the Siddaramaiah government returned to power in 2023, 12,609 pourakarmikas were regularised, he said.
Shivakumar said government jobs had been provided without corruption and referred to an order providing salaries of ₹40,000.
He also said 6,000 people had been recruited in local bodies and that discussions had been held on making further recruitments.
The Chief Minister said the government had decided to provide ₹7.5 lakh towards house construction for pourakarmikas.
Residential Schools Planned for Pourakarmika Children
A major focus of the announcements was the education of pourakarmikas’ children.
Shivakumar said the government intends to establish residential schools in urban areas on the Karnataka Public Schools model specifically for their children.
He said the objective was to ensure that the children receive education that enables them to become leaders and create new employment opportunities.
The government wanted children of pourakarmikas to aspire to become IAS and KAS officers, he said, adding that the proposal would be discussed with the ministers concerned.
Poura Bhavan Work to Begin in Coming Months
Responding to a long-standing demand for a dedicated building for pourakarmikas, Shivakumar said he had a location in mind for establishing a Poura Bhavan.
He said construction would be initiated within the next two months.
The Chief Minister also announced that the government would organise Pourakarmika Day every year.
He stressed that the government’s welfare approach should not be confined to providing breakfast or meals and said it was looking at the broader lives and future of workers and their families.
CM Eats With Pourakarmikas at Palace Grounds
Following the programme, Shivakumar had a meal with pourakarmikas at Palace Grounds.
Ministers K.H. Muniyappa, H.C. Balakrishna, Yathindra Siddaramaiah and K.S. Basavanthappa were among those present.
Former minister H. Anjaneya, Safai Karmachari Commission Chairman P. Raghu, Safai Karmachari Development Corporation’s Ashok Salappa, Urban Development Department Secretary B.B. Kaveri, Pourakarmika Development Association president Shaila K.D. and former Safai Karmachari Commission chairman Narayan were also present.
‘Your Hands Protect Karnataka’
Shivakumar said the government wanted to go beyond immediate welfare assistance and address the long-term lives of workers.
Referring to the Covid period, he said the Congress had contributed ₹1 crore and demanded free travel when workers were being charged three times the bus fare.
He also said many among the workers were autorickshaw drivers and announced that drivers would be invited the following week so that their problems could be heard.
“D.K. Shivakumar and the Congress government will stand with you. Yours are not merely hands that remove waste; they are hands that protect Karnataka,” he said.
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