The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found a shortage of 16,045 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in Gujarat, where a number of them operate from temporary structures and open spaces.
“Among the total 53,029 AWCs in the State, 3,381 were operating from temporary structures and 30 were located in open spaces. Additionally, 8,452 AWCs had dilapidated buildings, indicating that the women and child development department is yet to ensure safe and secure pukka AWC buildings for service delivery. None of the AWCs, including those built between 2015 and 2023, met the specified requirement of a covered area of 600 square feet per 30 children, leading to overcrowding,” stated CAG in a report tabled in the Gujarat Assembly, Friday.
Huge difference
CAG also pointed out that there was a “huge” difference between the eligible and enrolled population of children in the anganwadis. “Audit identified a shortage of 16,045 AWCs in the State. Further, the average number of enrolled children (zero to six years of age) from 2015-16 to 2022-23 was 40.34 lakh against the 77.77 lakh children as per Census 2011 which also confirms a huge difference of 37.43lakh (48.13 per cent) children between eligible and enrolled population,” it added in the report titled, “Implementation of Integrated Child Development Services Scheme”
Pointing out that Gujarat has 53,029 AWCs, serving a population of 5.53 crore as of March 2023, the report states that in order to meet the requirements established by the MoWCD, GoI, Gujarat Government would require an additional 16,045 AWCs to adequately serve the current coverage of 5.53 crore Population. “Moreover, the additional requirement of AWCs would increase when considering the population of 6.04 crore people in Gujarat according to 2011 Census data,” it stated.
CAG also noticed that 1,299 AWCs (2.45 per cent) in Gujarat had no toilets, and 1,032 AWCs (1.95 per cent) lacked drinking water facilities. It also pointed out a shortage of human resources. “Notably, 56.70 per cent of Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs positions and 14.35 percent of Lady Supervisor positions were vacant. This shortage adversely affected the effective functioning of the. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme,” the report added.
Source link
[ad_3]
[ad_4]