Latest news with #SupplementaryNutritionProgramme
Hans India
27-06-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Stronger action against malnutrition, child marriage proposed in Dakshina Kannada
Expressing concern over sluggish progress in nutritional and child welfare programmes, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr K Anand has directed officials to urgently strengthen initiatives under the Women and Child Development Department. Chairing a district-level coordination meeting on Thursday, Dr Anand noted that the district lags behind others in implementing the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) and called for immediate improvement in service delivery. He asked Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs) to ensure that malnourished children—20 identified as severely undernourished—are admitted without delay to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), with due care to hygiene and nutrition. 'Our goal should be to make Dakshina Kannada a malnutrition-free district,' he asserted. Dr Anand also stressed the need to ensure pre-primary education for children aged 3 to 5 and suggested using women's groups and gram sabhas to identify and enrol out-of-school children. On the infrastructure front, officials from the Karnataka State Habitat Centre were instructed to expedite Anganwadi building repairs. CDPOs were told to monitor and regularly inspect ongoing works. Two cases of child marriage were reported in the district in the latter half of 2024. Dr Anand urged gram panchayats to hold vigilance meetings to address child marriage and teenage pregnancies, directing that any suspected case be reported to Childline (1098). He also called for awareness drives across community platforms. Highlighting the 13 dowry-related harassment cases recorded in the same period, Dr Anand asked for legal literacy campaigns in mothers' groups, Stree Shakti meetings, and Child Protection Committee sessions. He also recommended urgent repair of the District Bal Bhavan building.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
CAG report flags lapses in Integrated Child Development Services in T.N.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found several deficiencies in the functioning of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) under the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment department. In its report tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday, CAG pulled up the department for delay in relocating Anganwadi Centres, discrepancies in data of beneficiaries registered in the apps, lack of basic infrastructure and vacancies in Anganwadi centres. The CAG's compliance audit on Integrated Child Development Services in the State during 2021- 2023, found that though the Union government had called for a rationalising exercise of the Anganwadi centres in 2014, but the State only directed so in 2021. 'The delay of eight years in rationalising or relocating Anganwadi centres defeated the objective of covering all areas under ICDS,' the audit said and recommended that the government should monitor the effective implementation of relocation of the Anganwadis in a time bound manner with emphasis on uncovered areas. The audit also found that there were discrepancies in the data of total number of beneficiaries in TN ICDS which is maintained by the State government, the Poshan Tracker maintained by the Centre, and Monthly Progress Reports. These inaccuracies led to inconsistencies in the data relied upon to monitor the implementation of the scheme, the audit said. The CAG observed that there was lack of basic infrastructure such as a separate kitchen, water facility, toilets, playing area in the 77 sampled Anganwadi centres across Tamil Nadu. The State had replied that all possible measures are being taken up, to provide the basic facilities to the Anganwadis in a phased manner and the District Collectors have been instructed to visit the AWCs regularly. The audit noted that due to the existence of vacancies, Anganwadi workers are holding additional charge of other centres. Replying to a question on the high vacancies, the State said 'Speedy action will be taken to fill up the vacancies at the earliest.' Under ICDS, weaning food is provided to antenatal women, postnatal mothers and children in the age group of six months to six years. The audit observed that the composition of food was short of prescribed nutrient and energy requirements as testing was not conducted. Other measures The audit also noted that there was a lack of coordination with line departments and delays in construction of buildings of Anganwadi centres as out of 3,503 buildings sanctioned during 2019-2023, 273 buildings were pending completion as of April 2024. It also pointed out that there was a shortage in enrolment of beneficiaries aged between three to six years under Supplementary Nutrition Programme and related Pre-school Education activities. Monitoring and Review Committee meetings were not conducted and there was a shortfall in supervision by Integrated Child Development Service functionaries, the audit also added. It also stressed that there was a need for a robust and user-friendly grievance redressal system in the State.
