Times
of India: Ahmedabad: Monday, 06 October 2014.
Working
parents do not mind shelling out a bomb on daycare centres that take care of
their children, provide nutrition and play with them when they are not around.
But there are close to 1.25 lakh children in the city, aged between six months
to six years, who go to 2,046 anganwadis (childcare centres), most of them
running out of 1,745 private buildings and paid pittance by the government in
the name of childcare. The government, for instance, spends on a six-year Rs 6
a day that takes care of his or her lunch and breakfast. Besides this, a single
time meal is anywhere between 50 grams to 80 grams per child.
An RTI by Raj
Sisodiya with the women and child development department and the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation (AMC) revealed the amount the government spends on each
child in the city. Raj had sought a reply from the AMC on the status of
aanganwadis in the city, their daily budget, quality of food and establishment
costs.
"The
supreme court guidelines clearly states that every child should be fed at these
childcare centres for 300 days in a year. In fact, apart from government
funding, the AMC too can spend on the nutrition for these children," says
Sisodiya.
The RTI
revealed that the government pays 6 paise per child to a contractor who
delivers food at the anganwadi. The anganwadi operates 300 days and foods are
served according to chart.
The
commissioner, women and child development department of state government
claimed that it owns 1,342 aanganwadi centres in the city, which is contrary to
the actual picture on ground. In Ahmedabad, there are more than 1,700
anganwadis for which the state government pays rent of up to Rs 3,000 per
month. In fact, Bharat Bodat, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
official at AMC, told TOI that there are 2,046 aanganwadis in Ahmedabad city
run by AMC. There are also six mobile aanganwadis.
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