Srinagar, Feb 04, KDC: Applicants for Anganwadi Worker (AWW) and Helper (AWH) positions at the Block Development Office (BDO) in Hajin are raising serious allegations regarding a mandatory ₹100 “Red Cross fee” being extracted during the document verification process.
Applicants said that their files, including crucial documents and signature verifications, are not being processed by office staff unless they first deposit ₹100 and, in turn, are given a receipt from the Indian Red Cross Society.
The prospective workers, many of whom come from economically vulnerable backgrounds, describe a situation where an ostensibly voluntary donation has been converted into a compulsory gatekeeping fee for government employment.
“This practice appears to directly contradict official recruitment guidelines issued for Mission POSHAN in 2026, which explicitly mention that application forms are to be provided ‘free of cost’ and make no mention of any mandatory donation or processing fee for verification,” they said.
According to several applicants, the ₹100 charge is being applied uniformly to everyone seeking to submit their candidacy, regardless of their financial standing.
While recent government orders, such as Government Order No: 1998-JK(GAD) of 2025, do call for voluntary contributions to the Red Cross Fund, they specifically frame these as “voluntary” acts meant for existing employees or citizens willing to support humanitarian causes. The applicants argue that tying this payment to the verification of basic eligibility documents amounts to an administrative overreach that creates an illegal barrier to entry for merit-based positions.
Efforts to obtain an official explanation for this practice have so far been unsuccessful, as the BDO Hajin has not responded to inquiries regarding the legal authorization for these collections. (KDC)
