A proposal by the Women and Child Welfare Department to do away with nutrition counsellors and link crèche workers at anganwadi centres is kicking up a controversy. The State government had appointed over 1,000 nutrition counsellors on a contract basis at anganwadi centres in Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, Srikakulam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Anantpur and Guntur districts as part of ‘Amrutha Hastam’ project to provide quality nutrition to women and children in rural areas.
Each nutrition counsellor is being paid ₹3,000 as monthly honorarium and each link worker is being paid ₹750.
However, workers are not being paid salaries since April 2016. A recent GO issued by the department has stated that the services of nutrition counsellors and link crèche workers are being annulled.
Protest
“We protest the decision of the State government to remove the nutrition counsellors and link workers from the service. At a time when the health of pregnant women and infants are being cited as top priority of both the Central and State governments, the proposal to do away with the support personnel will prove to be deterrent. We believe that it is part of a scheme to weaken the ICDS system,’’ said general secretary K. Subbaravamma, AP Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union (CITU), Andhra Pradesh Committee.
Scores of nutrition counsellors supported by CITU protested in front of Office of Commissioner, Women and Child Welfare, here on Wednesday.
The scheme is part of World Bank-funded project which began in the year 2015 to raise awareness on nutrition in backward and tribal areas which ended on November 2017.
“The World Bank funded project has ended last month and the government has decided to remove the posts,” said a ICDS officer in Guntur district.
The decision of the government comes allegations of lack of quality food supply in the anganwadi centres. A recent check by AP Food Commission revealed that inferior quality food was being supplied to anganwadi centres.
