News Analysis India

Tag: Anganwadi

  • Anganwadi workers and helpers entitled to gratuity: Supreme Court

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Anganwadi workers and helpers appointed to work in Anganwadi centres are entitled to gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

    A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka said Anganwadi centres also perform statutory duties and have become an extended arm of the government.

    “The 1972 (Payment of Gratuity) Act will apply to Anganwadi centres and in turn to AWWs(Anganwadi Workers) and AWHs (Anganwadi Helpers),” the bench said.

    The bench noted that the issue involved in these appeals is whether Anganwadi workers and Anganwadi helpers appointed to work in Anganwadi centres set up under the Integrated Child Development Scheme are entitled to gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

    The appeals arose out of writ petitions filed by the District Development Officer and two other officers for taking exception to the orders passed by the Controlling Authority which said that Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers are entitled to gratuity under the 1972 Act.

    “This finding was affirmed by a single bench of the Gujarat High Court. However, the division bench of the High Court, on appeals filed by the District Development Officer, set aside the single bench verdict and held that AWWs and AWHs could not be said to be employees as per Section 2(e) of the 1972 Act, and the ICDS project cannot be said to be an industry,” the apex court noted.

    The top court said that because of the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013 and Section 11 of the Right To Education Act, Anganwadi centres also perform statutory duties.

    “The Anganwadi centres have, thus, become an extended arm of the Government in view of the enactment of the National Food Security Act, 2013 and the Rules framed by the Government of Gujarat. The Anganwadi centres have been established to give effect to the obligations of the State defined under Article 47 of the Constitution. It can be safely said that the posts of AWWs and AWHs are statutory posts,” Justice Oka said in a separate judgement.

    The apex court said that Anganwadi workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi helpers (AWH) have been assigned all­ pervasive duties, which include identification of the beneficiaries, cooking nutritious food, serving healthy food to the beneficiaries, conducting pre-school for the children of the age group of 3 to 6 years, and making frequent home visits for various reasons.

    “Implementation of very important and innovative provisions relating to children, pregnant women as well as lactating mothers under the 2013 Act has been entrusted to them. It is thus impossible to accept the contention that the job assigned to AWWs and AWHs is a part­ time job. The Government Resolution dated November 25, 2019, which prescribes duties of AWWs and AWHs, does not lay down that their job is a part-­time job. Considering the nature of duties specified thereunder, it is full­time employment,” the bench said.

    It said that in the State of Gujarat, AWWs are being paid monthly remuneration of only Rs 7,800­ and AWHs are being paid monthly remuneration of only Rs. 3,950­.

    AWWs working in mini ­Anganwadi centres are being paid a sum of Rs 4,400 per month and the important tasks of providing food security to children in the age group of six months to six years, pregnant women as well as lactating mothers have been assigned to them, it said.

    “For all this, they are being paid very meager remuneration and paltry benefits under an insurance scheme of the Central Government. It is high time that the Central Government and State Governments take serious note of the plight of AWWs and AWHs who are expected to render such important services to the society,” the apex court said.

    Justice Rastogi also penned a separate but concurring judgement and said the time has come when the Central Government/State Governments have to collectively find out modalities in providing better service conditions to the voiceless commensurate to the nature of job discharged by Anganwadi workers/helpers.

  • Centre postpones ‘healthy boy-girl contest’, asks states to observe ‘Poshan Pakhwa

    Express News Service

    The Centre has postponed the earlier scheduled week-long event ‘Healthy boy-girl contest’ to start from March 21 (Monday) and directed the states to instead begin a two-week-long campaign ‘Poshan Pakhwada’ on nutritional challenges, a senior official said.

    Poshan Pakhwada this year will be rolled out from March 21 to April 4 with the key focus on creating awareness on community-based activities, gender sensitisation, prevention of anaemia, encouraging traditional food for securing healthy mothers and children in the scheduled tribe areas.

    To ensure wider people’s participation all the district collectors and the district project officers of the women & child development department have been asked to seek support from the other departments, local organisations and people’s representatives, panchayats, self-help groups, farmers’ groups, youth clubs to achieve the desired goals of ‘Poshan Abhiyan’.

    Ahead of the campaign, the Chhattisgarh government claimed to have achieved remarkably in the fight against malnutrition. “In the year 2019, 4.33 lakh malnourished children were identified and Mukhyamantri Suposhan Abhiyan was launched. So far, 1.72 lakh children are out of the vicious cycle of malnutrition”, CM Bhupesh Baghel said in the Assembly.

    The scheme now is a target-based intervention programme, the children from 6 to 54 months were considered as ‘earmarked’ as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that the child growth standards can be effectively measured under the age of 5 years.

    According to the state WCD officials, The number of malnourished children has declined by nearly 36 per cent in the state since the launch of the ‘Mukhyamantri Suposhan Yojana’.

    Arrangements were made to provide hot-cooked food for children under Suposhan Abhiyan, the supplementary nutritional food to the identified kids at anganwadi centre, distribute free nutritious food at local-level to the malnourished women and children.

  • Govt school teachers in Bihar now tasked with teaching at anganwadis too

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Teachers of government-run primary schools in Bihar have been given an added responsibility of having to teach children at nearby anganwadi centres.

    The teachers are expected to work in the respective Anganwadi centres at least twice a week.

    The teachers of 42,573 government-run primary schools will ensure the delivery of pre-primary education to small children at anganwadi centres.

    Confirming this, Dr Ranjit Kumar Singh, the director of primary school education, said that the order in this regard was issued to all the district education officers (DEOs) for further compliance.

    In the order, the department has directed the block education officer (BEO) to cooperate with the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) in order to start teaching children.

    As per the order, the anganwadi centres, which are located or operating outside school premises, would be tagged with the nearest government primary school within 15 days.

    Currently all government schools and colleges in Bihar are shut till July owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

    This decision, a first-of-its-kind move, was taken on February 23 at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the chief secretary.

    Director of Primary Education Dr Ranjit Kumar Singh stated in the order that the decision was taken after considering that basic literacy and numeric knowledge must be provided to children enrolled at anganwadi centres under the National Education Policy 2020.

    ALSO WATCH | India records world’s highest single-day COVID death toll, thanks to Bihar

  • Milk to be served three days a week to children aged between 3 and 6 years at Anganwadis in MP

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Milk will be served three days a week to children aged between three and six years in Anganwadis across Madhya Pradesh, the state cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan decided on Tuesday.

    According to the state government’s official statement, the cabinet decided to re-start the regular distribution of milk for 3 days in a week to children of Anganwadi centers in the 3 to 6 age group by the Madhya Pradesh Mid-Day Meal Programme Council (Panchayat and Rural Development Department) from January-2021.

    In 2019, while there was a Congress government in power in MP, then women and child development minister Imarti Devi had mooted the idea of serving eggs to kids at Anganwadi centers, which had kicked up a political row in the state. In 2020, the Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist minister Imarti Devi (who was then the WCD minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government) had again rooted for serving eggs to kids at Anganwadis to fight malnutrition, but the idea was disapproved by the CM. Devi, just a few weeks later lost the assembly by-elections as BJP candidate.

    The Tuesday’s state cabinet meeting also decided to establish women police stations in 42 districts to curb crime against women and for the smooth registration and research of the crimes committed. Out of the 52 districts in the state, ten districts already have women police stations.

    There will be Zero financial burden on the establishment of women police stations in the remaining 42 districts by rationalizing a total of 1470 forces sanctioned for zones, districts and women police stations. The decision was in line with the 2021-22 annual budget announcement of one women police station in each of the 52 districts.

    The Cabinet also decided to implement the ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ launched by the Central government under the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign for the next 5 years (from 2020-21 to 2024-25) in the state. In the next 5 years, an amount of Rs 481.66 crore will be spent on integrated development and management of fisheries in the state.

    Further, the cabinet gave a revised administrative approval of Rs 585.21 crore for total irrigated area of 19,785 hectares for Parasdoh Medium Lift Irrigation Project in Betul district. The cabinet also granted revised administrative sanction of Rs 102.45 crore for Murki Medium Irrigation Project of Dindori district.

    Also, the cabinet decided to implement the National Animal Disease Control Program of the central government in the state as per the proposal received by the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department.

  • Child protection month started, vitamin A medicine given to children

    Panchsheel Nagar Ward no. Infant Protection Month was organized at the 26th Aganbadi center. During this, Councilor Manish Sharma started the program by drinking vitamin A medicine and appealed to the residents to give this medicine to all children. Aanganwadi worker Sudha Ratre informed vitamin A. He said that today iron tablets were given to children aged 6 months to 5 years and vitamin A medicines were given to children aged 9 months to 5 years. Vitamin A medicine helps to prevent anemia in children. Along with this, brain development also takes place and iron syrup removes the lack of blood in the body and helps in physical development. Simultaneous normalization was also done, in which the hemoglobin was tested for pregnant women, who had a low amount of hemoglobin in their body, were given iron calcium tablets. The event was attended by health worker Manisha Dhruv, Aganwadi worker Kirit Soni, Mitanin Sarojini Manikpuri, Phuleshwari Sahu, Sahayika Draupati Sahu, Pradeep Chandrakar, Tarakeswar Sinha, Ranjana Sinha and ward.

  • Public Works Minister inaugurated various development works worth Rs 15 crore – Bhoomi Pujan

    Home and Public Works Minister Shri Tamradhwaj Sahu inaugurated and performed Bhoomi Pujan of various development works worth about Rs.15 crore in various villages of Bemetara district on Thursday. MLA Bemetra Shri Ashish Chhabra, State Backward Class Commission Chairman Shri Thaneshwar Sahu and local public representatives and large number of villagers were present in the Bhumipujan-inauguration program.

    Public Works Minister Mr. Sahu constructed the construction of the approach road from the village Khapri-Mouli-Chandi main road in Berla development block costing 19 lakh 96 thousand rupees, the construction cost of the poor Khurd Basti approach road of Pendritrai-Gudheli-Bhalesra (main district road) cost 19 lakh 91 thousand rupees, construction cost of Anganwadi access road at Ghatiyakhurd from Khapri-Pahra main road cost 19 lakh 88 thousand rupees, drain construction cost at Amora new population colony on Ahivar Berla Kobia main road and Rs 18 lakh 84 thousand rupees on Ahivara Berla Cobia main road Inaugurating drain construction cost of Rs 17 lakh 8 thousand in Amora Basti.

  • Forest Minister reviewed various works being done in Rajnandgaon district

    The Minister of Forests and in-charge of Rajnandgaon district, Shri Mohammad Akbar today reviewed the construction works being carried out from various items including District Mineral Fund in Rajnandgaon district through video conferencing from his residence office in Raipur. He instructed the collector to provide detailed information about district panchayat and gram panchayat-wise construction works soon.
    Collector Mr. Topswar Verma informed that three thousand 602 works worth Rs 87.77 crore have been approved in the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 from various items including District Mineral Fund in the district. Out of these 2004 works have been completed and 329 works are in progress. Sanctioned works include 46 Anganwadi centers, 14 Panchayat buildings, 28 PDS buildings, 465 paddy collection chabutra, 37 plant preparation work (nursery), plantations in 221 roadside and Gauthan sites, 394 Gowthan, 211 pastures and 2186 Narva development works.