Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 4: The Central funds worth over Rs 300 crore meant for Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in J&K, may remain unutilized again this year as State level purchase committee has failed to finalise financial bid despite the fact that about 15,000 Anganwadi centers in Jammu Division are lying dry for the last about two years.
Lakhs of children in the age group of 2 to 5 years and school-drop out girls have been deprived of their full nutrition quota by the State Social Welfare Department due to the criminal negligence on the part of officials at the helm of affairs. The State Government continued to provide funds for this purpose but due to non-purchase of food and nutrition items by the officers and lack of proper monitoring at the top level in the Government, over eight lakhs children of the State are suffering.
Official sources told the Excelsior that all the 800 Anganwadi centers in district Samba are lying dry for the last nearly three years now. In Jammu district also, there is no supply except CAPD rice during June this year. No recipe, edible oils, even the salt and ‘Haldi’ has been supplied in the centers as the new contract committee framed at State level failed to make the purchases even at the fag end of this financial year. In many centres, some times Anganwadi workers managed recipe from their own pockets just to attract the children to attend centers. Many parents have stopped sending their children in view of non-supply of nutrition to the Aganwadi centers by the concerned department.
The concerned ICDS Mission Directorate J&K, especially in Jammu region has completely failed to fulfill its obligations and render its services to the poor children for which purpose this department was established by the Government of India in 1975. Initially, two projects -Billawar in Kathua and Kangan in Ganderbal were launched in J&K during that year. Special funds every year are kept at the disposal of the State Governments to provide healthy nutrition to the children of BPL category and the poorest of the poorer class, but these children of the lesser Government are being denied their rightful share by the officers at the helm of affairs. In Samba, all the 800 Anganwadi centers are running dry for the last nearly three years now.
In some of the districts last year, a few items were picked up by the officials while three districts including Samba, Jammu and Kathua remained totally dry. The FCI rice was lifted by the department and issued to the ICDS centers but without pulses, nutri, grams, recipe items, edible oil, salt, turmeric etc, the only rice can not be cooked and given to the children of the centers. An adhoc approach is being adopted by the concerned Project and ICDS officers for running these centers.
The Anganwadi workers of about a dozen centres in Jammu district when contacted revealed that their supervisors were pressurising them to collect recipe items including potatoes, onions, salt, turmeric etc from the village and ward community for cooking rice and provide something to the children to ensure their presence in the centers. They also alleged that department failed to make village level and ward level committees for making purchased even after 10 months. The old committee under Deputy Commissioners cases to exist now. The department has switched over to new system which could not be established till today and children are suffering.
Sources in the SWD said that Government is providing funds to the tune of hardly Rs 100 crores every year to the Department for making purchases of food and nutrition items for the poor children in the age group of 2 to 5 years in nearly 30,000 Anganwadi centers under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in various projects.
Under new order pregnant women will also be supplied food and nutrition by the ICDS wing . The amount kept lying with the officers at the helm of affairs but they do not bother to hold purchase committee meetings and finalise the rate contracts for months together. This practice deprived the Anganwadi centers children of the food and nutrition items.
They mostly do it at the end of the financial year in hush- hush manner and in the process many substandard and adulterated items also get cleared with the nexus at lower level. From 2005 onwards the purchases were being made by the district level committees under DCs. The new system of purchases was adopted this year by dissolving old district level committees. The new State Level Committee under Mission Director involving officials from Planning, Finance and Directors Social Welfare Kashmir and Jammu was involved to make purchases as interim measures to maintain supplies to the centers till this new system is fully established. But this Committee opened the technical bid about one and half month back but the officers failed to take decision for clearing financial bid which is the task of just few hours on any fine day. Interestingly, a few members have withdrawn from it.
Sources further said for this financial year 2017-2018, the Central Government provided funds in advance for making purchases and the Finance Department in its circular issued in various newspapers during second week of April issued advisory not only to the SWD but some other departments to complete the tender process before May 15, 2017, failing which they will have to write to the Finance Department for seeking permission by giving valid and justified reasons for the delay.
But no ICDS project could receive supplies till today. The old order regarding making purchases through DCs has been withdrawn and new system of making purchases through Villager Level Committees could not be set in motion despite the lapse of 11 months. The result is that the money being sent by the Government of India for them is going to be unspent or diverted to the other sectors.
The District Samba failed to utilize Rs 18 crore in last three years meant for purchase of food and nutrition items while the annual allocation of district Jammu alone is over Rs 25 crore in terms of food and nutrition items for about 1.16 lakh children.
Minister for Social Welfare Department, Sajjad Gani Lone when contacted said that old system of purchases through Deputy Commissioners has been replaced by the new system through Village Level and Ward Level Committees . He said that 15-member Village Level Committee of concerned area will make purchases and they will also monitor the quality of the nutrition/ diet being provided to the community children at Anganwadi centers.
He said it will make system transparent and accountability of local community people would also increase. But this process will take some time. He claimed that concerned officials are on the job and old system will be replaced by the new and affective one shortly.
He further claimed that his concern was to provide good and healthy diet to the children for which Union Government is providing about Rs 300 crores every year. But unfortunately as per the past track record of many years, it has been found that officers concerned are unable to spend the Central funds received for this purpose through ICDS projects. He said the Village Committees would be set up soon and they will start function shortly. ” The new system takes some time to move on rails. Some interim measures have been made by the officials concerned to ensure supplies and run the centers,”Lone maintained.
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