INTRODUCTION
Here
we are talking about the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and its
implementation in the state of Uttar Pradesh, because its performance has been
among the worst among other states, standing fourth after Bihar, A.P and Daman
and Diu, in the area of malnutrition of women and children, in 2013. According
to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development data, UP is a poor
performer in the matter of underweight and malnourished children in the age group
0-6 years; this despite the fact that there was a stated annual fund of Rs.
3,000 crores allocated, in which the State and Centre were both contributors.
It was seen that around 35.5% of the total children who had been beneficiaries
of the scheme (2 crore) under the supplementary nutrition programme was
underweight, and out of these, 62,728 were severely malnourished. Thus, the
percentage of underweight children was significantly higher than the national
average of 28.4%.
In popular perception, and also, in the view of the Central Government, the Anganwadi workers have not been able to achieve the required level of success and are mainly to blame for the non-performance.
However, when one talks to the implementers of the Scheme, the Anganwadi workers and helpers, they have a different story to tell-that they have been working hard against odds to achieve targets-a sad story of forced overtime work along with multiple tasks and unachievable targets; yet their own condition has remained abysmal, as they are treated not as employees of the Government but as volunteers in the Scheme, dependent only on paltry honorariums.
What has been the problem in achieving the set targets? Does the Scheme have inbuilt flaws because of a wrong Government policy, or is that its implementation is halfhearted and ridden with corruption? These are some of the questions that need to be answered for a proper appraisal of the prevailing state of affairs.
Centre vs State
With the above figures not coming down, the erstwhile Central UPA
Government had done some restructuring and proposed the ‘ICDS Mission Plan’; in
other words, the States and UTs would be responsible for bringing down the
rates of child malnutrition and child morbidity and mortality with the help of
corporates, private companies, NGOs and Self-help Groups. This would
effectively mean that the Central Government would be absolved of the responsibility and accountability of proper
implementation of the Scheme and achieving set targets. This restructuring has
led to a fierce and ongoing debate on whether the change in policy would effect
better performance. While there has been a spate of protests against the
Mission Plan, the organization spearheading the movement, AIFAWH ,says that implementation
of the Mission Plan means what is supposed to be a basic right for growing
children would become some kind of largesse given by private parties and there
would be no checks and balances; there are others who feel it would lead to
greater accountability on the part of the States and UTs, and competition would
trigger positive action in achieving targets. Reports from the state of U.P.
say that the funds allocated for supplementary nutrition are more than enough-around
Rs. 5000 per child. In 2013 the State Government had adopted the Mission mode
and an amount of Rs 147.44 crore was granted for Phase I of the ICDS Systems
Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) provision, where 41 UP
districts were identified as high burden districts, where the instance of malnutrition is quite high. Yet,
the State has not been showing any significant improvement in terms of fighting
malnutrition.
A discussion with the Anganwadi workers has shown that though none could deny
their efforts and quantum of time devoted to the work assigned, they have
remained largely dissatisfied with the treatment meted out to them. The situation
in Uttar Pradesh is representative of other backward states of the country,
where social indicators are, as it is, poor. It also requires Herculean efforts
in implementing the Scheme, it being the largest state in the country in terms
of population (19.9 crore). For example, according to the 2011 Census, female
population in the State is quite large-around 9.53 crore, while the sex ratio
remains 912, which is much lower than the National average of 940.
The rate of population growth is also alarming at more than 20 percent, and
female literacy is just above Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand at 59.3 percent,
much lower than the National Average of 65.46 percent Long-standing Demands of
the Anganwadi Workers Meanwhile the Anganwadi workers and helpers working in U.P.
tell a story of Government apathy and callousness, no matter which Government
it is-State or Centre. According to them, the Anganwadi workers are highly
underpaid and overworked, having to do many kinds of jobs which are not within
the purview of their regular duties. So, they have been demanding proper
implementation of the manual. According to the workers, since long, they have
been made to do several other kinds of work, which are totally unrelated to fighting
malnutrition, and this takes away a lot of their time and energy. Also, lack of
a fair wage, the status of volunteers rather than government employees, no
promotion, as well as lack of incentives has gradually turned the employees
into a disgruntled lot, having to relentlessly fight for their own rights along
with those of the people they are serving.
Leaders of the Uttar Pradesh Anganwadi Supervisors’ Association feel that Government
apathy and wrong policies are mainly responsible for the non-performance in
this sector.