In U.P., malnutrition figures have not only persisted, but they have also been mired in controversies. In 2012, the state's decision to award a Rs 10,000 crore contract for three years to Great Value Food, a company owned by slain industrialist Ponty Chadha, for supplying food for the Supplementary Nutrition Programme came under the scanner. The awarding of this contract had gone against the Supreme Court orders of 2004, which mandated that only self-help groups, mahila mandals, village communities and village-based industries could be awarded contracts for supplying food for the nutrition programme.
An expert researching on women and child health said, "If you do a
backward calculation of what the UP government spends on the supplementary
nutrition programme alone, the average per child expenditure comes to about Rs
5,000 per head - Rs 10,000 crore for two crore children. There is empirical
evidence available to show that the quality of food provided to children is in
many cases, dismal. If an equivalent amount was paid to the families of the
children instead, nutritional levels would automatically better.
Issues related to ICDS workers in U.P. multi-tasking leading to loss of time
and energy Most employees are made to suffer due to overwork and multiple
tasks, which are impossible to complete within the stipulated time due to lack of
infrastructure, staff and transport facilities.
No Regularization
The Central Government does not
make any commitment regarding regularizing the ICDS workers even after 40 long years.
Rather, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has made it clear that the
Government has no plans to regularize the ICDS Workers.
No efforts to impart knowledge and give professional training The staff has not
been given enough knowledge regarding the main reasons behind malnutrition of
women and children in the state, nor is there any professional training to make
the Anganwadi workers and helpers efficient.
Rampant Corruption at the level of officials Corruption at the level of
officials has become the norm.
Appointments on forged certificates or through political pressure, bribery,
misuse of funds, false records, pilfering of food material are some of the
cases mentioned even in the 2014 CAG Report. This culture naturally percolates
down to the level of workers too.
