The Schrodinger’s cat of Andhra’s volunteer system Premium

More than 2.6 lakh village and ward volunteers in Andhra Pradesh, once celebrated as the government’s grassroots champions for their crucial role in implementing welfare schemes, are now in a dilemma after learning that their tenure has not been renewed after August 2023 even though they have been paid honoraria till June 2024. Disowned by both YSRCP, which was in power when they were appointed, and the current ruling TDP, which made a poll promise to double their pay, these former volunteers are ruing the day they signed up for the role which they don’t know if even still exists

The boisterous Sankranti festivities in the street seemed to mock the silence that filled Telugu Ganimini Meena Kumari’s dimly lit single-room house in Chakali Veedhi (Washermen’s Street) at the One Town area of Kurnool town in Andhra Pradesh.

“I feel feeble because I am anaemic,” the 37-year-old woman says, sitting on the edge of a wooden cot. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “And this (spinal) disc problem…” she pauses, clutching her lower back as a wince escapes her lips. “I may not have long,” she says as her voice cracks, even as her two children, Gayathri (8) and Lokesh (7), sit close by, unable to grasp the gravity of her words. She eats only one meal a day. “Not because I want to, but how else can I feed them?” she asks, turning her face away lest her children might see the tears welling up her eyes.

Meena Kumari is among the more than 2.6 lakh youth who were appointed as village and ward volunteers by the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government led by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as the Chief Minister in 2019. Each volunteer was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the 40 to 50 households allocated to them benefit from the schemes and services offered by the government. The volunteers were paid a monthly honorarium of ₹5,000.

After the death of her husband, Pothuraju Shiva, in January 2019, Meena Kumari supported her family with the ₹3,000 widow pension and the honorarium she received for her volunteer work, in addition to the small financial help from her brother.

However, a new government was formed in June 2024 with the National Democratic Alliance, led by Telugu Desam Party national president N. Chandrababu Naidu as the Chief Minister, and the payment of the honoraria for the volunteers was stopped.

“I don’t know how to manage anymore,” says Meena Kumari, who holds B.Sc. Microbiology and B.Ed. degrees. “Even though the honorarium was small, it kept us afloat. Now it’s gone, and I’m struggling to feed my family,” she adds.

During his tenure as the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy showcased the volunteer system as a successful model of decentralisation of administration, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed that the system provided employment to rural youth and helped deliver government schemes directly to the beneficiaries.