Gurgaon: Citing privacy concerns, more than 22,000 Asha workers have unanimously decided to shun a mobile app introduced by the National Health Mission.
The app — MDM 360 shield — has been developed by the government for tracking and updating daily targets of Asha workers.
The app allows the senior officials to track the location of the Asha workers and add/delete information on the handsets provided by the department.
These accredited social health activists, who have been up in arms against the lack of safety net and highlighted gaps in the state government’s Covid management, have now raised objections against the mandatory downloading of the app.
Terming it as a “surveillance app”, the Asha workers fear that it will make them further vulnerable to greater scrutiny and harassment from officials.
A delegation of workers from all the 22 districts has decided to hand over their smartphones, provided by the health department, as a symbolic gesture to uphold their Right to Privacy.
Last month, Asha workers had suspended work for a day to protest against the government for not providing them with safety kits, salaries and insurance coverage promised in 2020.
“Asha workers have been protesting against the government since 2018 and the government wants to silence them through surveillance.
They want to track down workers who are leaking information about the administration’s mismanagement and the ground situation, and arm-twist them to fall in line,” said Surekha, general secretary of Asha Workers Union (Haryana).
The Asha workers, however, have cried foul and accused the department of choking their voices.
Many workers told TOI that the government officials have been threatening them for going to the media and organising protests in the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, NHM state coordinator Chand Singh Madaan, said: “Asha workers are being misled by politically motivated people.
The idea of this app is to track the work of Asha workers.
These phones were meant for official use.
It will help us monitor that workers are not misusing it.
Also, it will help us tackle technical issues they face and update their app or add new features.