Minister of State for Social Welfare, Health and Medical Education, Asiea Niqash today convened a meeting to review the status of various ongoing projects being executed under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in Jammu division.Commissioner- Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Shujaat Ahmed Khan, Mission Director, ICDS, J&K, G A Sofi, Joint Director, Social Welfare Department, Joyti Rani Salathia and all District Programme officers, ICDS Jammu division along-with their respective CDPs attended the meeting and gave their suggestions for further streamlining of working of the Department.It was informed in the meeting that ICDS project was launched on pilot basis in October 1975 in two blocks Kangan in Kashmir and Billawar in Jammu division and subsequently was extended to all the districts of J&K and now 29267 Anganwadi centres are operational besides 2339 new Anganwadi Centres have been approved in 2016-17.
It was informed in the meeting that apart from ICDS Anganwadi Centres, implementation of other schemes like KSY, SABLA, IGMSY, LADI Beti and PMMVY has also been entrusted to the State Mission Director ICDS. Besides, 96 per cent of Anganwadi Centres are operating from rented buildings and MWCD has approved funding for construction of 1000 new Anganwadi buildings in convergence with MGNREGA. The meeting was informed that 420 anganwadi workers have been trained for Aadhaar enrolment, 500 tablets and 141 Aadhaar enrolment kits are being purchased from GeM portal for Aadhaar generation of children below 5 years as well as other beneficiaries, 1329 anganwadi workers and 40 Supervisors have undergone Refresher Training during 2017-18, 265 anganwadi Workers have undergone job training during 2017-18, 44 DLMTs are providing training to AWWs under ECCE, purchase of 30000 storage bins each of 50 kg capacity besides 7000 weighing machines and uniform for Anganwadi workers and helpers shall be purchased through e-tendering mechanism.
The Minister directed the concerned authorities for early completion and up-gradation of construction of Anganwadi Centres in all the districts of the State through MNREGA, timely procurement of nutrition, Constitution of Village Level Councils. She issued on the spot instructions for early establishment of new Anganwadi Centres, Monitoring of Weekly Tour diaries, release of honorarium of AWW/ Helpers etc. The Mission Director, ICDS apprised the Minister about the problems faced by the Officers in their day to day working due to shortage of staff and vacant posts of DPOs & CDPOs, lack of proper infrastructure, inadequate space in Centres, lack of hygienic storage space for nutrition, stagnation of Ministerial staff and Supervisors, low remuneration of anganwadi workers against multi-tasking etc.