Chandigarh, March 25
The Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal today informed the Vidhan Sabha that he has called for a departmental inquiry into the state of anganwaris after reading the two-part report in The Tribune. He, however, brushed aside a demand for an Assembly committee to look into it.
Attending the budget session of the Vidhan Sabha for the first time today, the chief minister was responding to a member’s demand for constituting a House committee to inquire into the omissions and commissions mentioned in The Tribune reports.
The issue was raised during the Zero Hour by Congress MLA from Guru Har Sahai, Rana Gurmit Sodhi. Waving a copy of the newspaper in the House, the member said it was shocking that the state has failed to ensure even basic facilities at these centres meant for children below the age of six, expectant and lactating mothers.
The reports had brought out the absence of teaching aids, books, toys, abascus, toilets, fans or drinking water and also drew attention to mismanagement due to which children were being deprived of fresh and nutritious meals.
Reading out parts of the report from the newspaper, Sodhi pointed out that Rs 230 crore was being spent annually on the anaganwaris and although “The number of anganwaris has doubled in the past three years, the number of children attending them has dropped sharply.”
“What is even worse is that the concerned minister has admitted that the situation is bad and that he is helpless,” he added.
Sodhi said the story even suggested that unemployed women in villages were ready to pay upto Rs 70,000 as bribe to get a job in these anganwaris.
Sodhi demanded that the House constitute a committee of the Vidhan Sabha that would enquire into the status of these centres, fix responsibility and suggest further course of action.
Responding to this the chief minister apprised the House that he had read both the reports and had asked his principal secretary to call for a report from the secretary, department of women and child welfare. He said the inquiry is time-bound and would be submitted within a month.
The number of anganwaris in Punjab has goneup from 14,370 to 26,656 in the past three years.
