Contract of 134 Kerala’s Kudumbashree staff terminated

Published 2 July 2026 · india

As many as 134 contractual staff under the Kudumbashree mission’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) scheme are staring at an uncertain future after

As many as 134 contractual staff under the Kudumbashree mission’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) scheme are staring at an uncertain future after the government decided not to renew their contract that expired on June 30. The 134 staff members include 118 women. Implementation of the DAY-NULM began in the State in May 2015. The Kudumbashree is the nodal agency for the project, which aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households. The Union government, in a communication to the States on transition from the DAY-NULM (which closed in September 2024) to a new scheme Deendayal Jan Aajeevika Yojana-Shehari (DJAY-S), had said that the existing administrative structure in the States could be retained for ensuring continuity in beneficiary support and transition to the new mission.

A DJAY-S pilot was also implemented in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi till December 31, 2025. Recoupment The Union government had clarified that expenditure incurred during the transition period until approval of the new mission could be proposed for recoupment. Owing to insufficient funds under the DAY-NULM, salary expenses from October 2025 were met as an interim arrangement from the Kudumbashree Convergence Scheme Account. This was recouped in May 2026 from unspent DJAY-S funds and salaries disbursed. Since ₹3.57 crore was still available under the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) in the State, the Kudumbashree was on June 24 directed to use its Central share for meeting salary expenses of staff from June to August this year.

A day later, this permission was revised for payment of salary only for June. Though the contract of staff appointed in the Kudumbashree on annual contract basis had expired in March, these had been extended till the end of June. On June 30, an order was issued extending their contract till September 30. However, the contract of those under the NULM/DJAY-S was not renewed. ‘Met Ministers’ The NULM staff said they had met the United Democratic Front (UDF) Ministers to press for at least an extension so that they could have a dignified exit instead of being let go all of a sudden. At least 50 of them are the sole earning members of their families.

Nine of them are above the age of 50. Finding some other job at this stage would be very tough. Sixty-four of them are in the 30-40 age group, and 58 in the 40-50 age group. A majority of the 134 whose contracts have been terminated draw only ₹15,000 a month, it is pointed out. Moreover, those who have been let go belong to all political affiliations, not just the Left, they said. The Kudumbashree staff fear this is just the start of contract terminations; other contract staff too would meet the same fate soon.