The State government submitted a report to the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday in which it said that seasonal fruit will be given once a week to children in anganwadi centres. The report lists steps taken to implement recommendations of a court-appointed committee to tackle malnutrition in children. The committee, headed by High Court judge N.K. Patil, had suggested that children in anganwadis should be given fruits.
The State government has said in the report that all district monitoring committees headed by respective Deputy Commissioners will be directed to ensure that seasonal fruit is given to children in anganwadis from 2013-14 fiscal.
Bhalki taluk in Bidar district, Devadurga taluk in Raichur, Periyapatna in Mysore and Yelburga in Koppal had been identified for implementation of the recommendations of the panel, the report added.
Tthe report said that the government has established 10-bedded Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) in 20 districts and 20-bedded NRCs in 10 government medical college hospitals.
To keep track of the progress in the health of identified underweight children, the government has developed a child tracking system which will be adopted in a year. On the panel’s suggestion that anganwadi workers should take up one-year certificate course in health, childcare, hygiene, the government said that there was no provision in the rules to depute them for a course. However, the government said that anganwadi workers will be given necessary training.
Taking the report on record, a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice K. Sreedhar Rao and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer adjourned further proceedings.
