House panel slams govt over state of anganwadi centres

So much for the government’s claims on child health, a legislature committee report has revealed that several anganwadi centres are dingy spaces without adequate ventilation. Also, many of these rural child care centres are functioning without basic infrastructure such as toilets.

The Committee on Local Bodies and Panchayat Raj, which tabled its report for 2019-20 in both the Houses, expressed concern about the infrastructure in anganwadis, while stating that the lack of toilets and ventilation pose health risks.

The report notes that in several villages, either the work had not begun or the building was leaking owing to poor quality walls. In some villages, the funds reserved for anganwadi infrastructure development have been diverted to civil works.

The committee said that while the target of the government was to build 3,026 new toilets in anganwadis across the state, only 1,663 toilets had been constructed so far. Similarly, of a total 5,011 repair works lined up for anganwadis, only 2,965 had been completed.

In several districts, there was little or no progress at all, with works going on at a slow pace, the report said. For instance, in Bagalkot, where the target was to construct 238 new toilets, only 11 were completed. In Ramanagar no toilet had been constructed while the target was 121. The same was the case with Raichur, where 76 toilets were expected to be constructed and no work had begun.

The representatives of anganwadi employees acknowledged the infrastructure woes. Speaking to DH, S Varalakshmi, president, Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers Association, CITU, said fund scarcity had taken a toll on infrastructure. “Till 2018, the government granted only Rs 1.80 lakh for infrastructure development per anganwadi. Recently, the amount has been increased to Rs 5 lakh, as against our demand of Rs 15 lakh taking present day costs into consideration,”
she said.

H S Sunanda, general secretary of the association, added that in several villages, especially in the Kalyana Karnataka region, even if there were toilets, there was no water.

“Anganwadi workers fetch water from afar. It is a serious issue. Also, the problem of dingy spaces persists in urban areas where space is a constraint. Here, many anganwadis also run from rented buildings. In such spaces, toilets are not available in the same building. In many instances, the government has not even paid rents and anganwadi workers are paying it from their pockets,” she said.