Almost three in four of the new anganwadi centres to be constructed in the current year will be built in convergence with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, the Women and Child Development Ministry has said.
The Ministry has informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Youth and Sports that the ₹12 lakh cost of construction of each anganwadi centre would also be split, with ₹8 lakh being provided under MGNREGS. The remaining ₹4 lakh will be paid by the Central and State governments in equal amounts.
The anganwadi centres, operated under the Integrated Child Development Services scheme are the first village outpost for nutrition, health and early learning.
Private funds welcome
There was a demand for 27,000 anganwadi centres in the country in the current year, out of which 20,000 are to be constructed under MGNREGA, the ministry said. The government has also identified 40,000 anganwadi centres for upgradation in aspirational districts across the country this year.
The Centre has also informed State governments that under the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 schemes, it is proposed that States may seek CSR funds on their own discretion, apart from accepting donations from individuals, companies, business houses and institutions of repute for construction of anganwadis purely on a pro bono basis without any obligation.
In a similar manner, States and Union Territories can seek funding for specific aspects of anganwadi infrastructure, including toilets, rainwater harvesting systems, furniture, cooking utensils, kitchen infrastructure and storage facilities.
Demand-supply mismatch
The Ministry also requested all States to revisit the actual requirements of anganwadi centres vis-à-vis the population of the area, the number of children actually attending, and the number of cenres already available, and then furnish a detailed proposal. This will enable the Centre to take a holistic view and initiate action to remove the mismatch between the demand and the actual position of these centres, it said.
The Parliamentary panel, on its part, pointed out the vacancies at anganwadis at all levels. “...the Committee is of the view that since the overall onus of successful and effective implementation of the Scheme lies with the States, it is incumbent upon them to address such vacancy gaps. The Committee recommends that the ministry may write to each of the States where the vacancy positions are high for taking suitable measures to ensure that vacancies are filled up at the earliest,” it said, in the report submitted to the Rajya Sabha.
