Middlemen demanding money for Anganwadi worker's job, says MP minister

Jhabua, Jul 26 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan on Saturday alleged that middlemen were demanding money for securing the job of `Anganwadi' worker, an allegation refuted by his cabinet colleague Nirmala Bhuria.

Women and Child Development (WCD) department headed by Bhuria has launched an online recruitment drive for 17,477 posts of Anganwadi workers and 2,077 posts of assistants since May 23. Anaganwadis are state-run pre-primary schools, mostly located in tribal areas.

In a video, Chouhan claimed that middlemen were demanding money from tribal candidates for securing jobs, and officials of the WCD department might be complicit in this racket.

The four-time MLA from Alirajpur constituency -- reserved for Scheduled Tribes -- appealed to tribal candidates not to pay anyone.

When contacted, WCD minister Bhuria told PTI that the recruitment process was fully online and transparent. Madhya Pradesh was the first state in the country to implement an online system for recruiting Anganwadi workers, she said.

"Our department's online recruitment model is being studied by other states. If Chouhan has received any complaints, he can submit them on the appropriate platform. I have not received any such complaint," she added. PTI COR LAL KRK