Experts want 10-fold hike in ICDS budget

Analyse health scheme to spot errors

Days before the Union Budget for 2012-13 is placed in Parliament, experts on Monday demanded a nearly 10-fold increase in the expenditure on Integrated Child Development Scheme, a 37-year-old progarmme meant to improve health and education among children nationwide.

They said it had become important to analyse the scheme afresh after the recent HUNGaMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) report which revealed a high rate of malnourishment among children.

Dipa Sinha, advisor, Supreme Court Commissioners on Right to Food, said at a panel discussion that the National Nutrition Programme is still to take off.

“The focus is on the wrong age group. The supplementary nutrition programme targets preschool children, that is the age group of 3 to 6 years. But to fight malnourishment, children below two years have to be given proper nutrition,” she said. Sinha said ICDS had not worked primarily because of low investments and poor infrastructure.

A presentation by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) noted that the government spends Rs 4 per day per child and Rs 5 per day per pregnant and lactating mother under the scheme. Budget allocated for a health kit at an anganwadi centre (AWC) is mere Rs 500.

The central government pays an honorarium of Rs 3000 a month to an anganwadi worker and Rs 1500 to an anganwadi helper.

The state governments are expected to add to the monthly pay, which remains much lower than the prescribed minimum wage.

In Delhi a worker gets Rs 4000 while a helper receives Rs 2000.

Released funds

Against the total allocation of Rs 37,891 crore in the 11th five year plan, the government has released Rs 28,571 crore in four years.

A paper presented at the discussion estimated a requirement of Rs 2,58,151 crore to universalise programmes under the ICDS.

The calculation is based on infrastructural needs, increasing per child expenditure to Rs 5.04 per day and per mother per day expenditure to Rs 6.30.

The CBGA and Save the Children, a non-governmental organisation, had organised the discussion on ‘Unfinished Agenda of ICDS: Universalisation, Restructuring and Budgetary Commitments’.

Training

“The major recommendations are to have at least two persons in each anganwadi centre in at least 200 most malnourished districts, monthly payment should be equal to minimum wages and proper training should be provided to workers and helpers,” said Sinha.

She said the poor quality of food resulted in parents not sending the children to anganwadis.

"We have seen in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu that providing eggs has improved attendance at the AWC," she said.