SHILLONG, July 31: Social Welfare Minister, Paul Lyngdoh on Monday asked the Centre to release funds earmarked and approve the Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) for the state. He took up the issues with Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani in New Delhi.
Informing Irani that the employees under PM POSHAN have not received their salaries for four months now, Lyngdoh said funds under Mission Vatsalya, Mission Shakti, and One Stop Centres have either not been released or received. “Recently under Mission Vatsalya, a video conference meeting was conducted with all the states. The Meghalaya government provided all inputs and clarifications on the queries for expeditious release of funds,” he said.
Highlighting a few of the talking points with Irani, he said the Social Welfare Department is embarking on an ambitious initiative to cover 1,500 uncovered villages under ICDS to ensure that the Supplementary Nutrition Programme reaches all children under 6 years, adolescent girls (14-18 years), pregnant women and nursing mothers.
“It is proposed that Anganwadi centres shall be constructed for all these uncovered villages along with provisions of take-home ration extending the benefits of supplementary nutrition to all beneficiaries in the true spirit of Early Childhood Development (ECD) Mission launched by the state government,” Lyngdoh said.
Stating that any financial assistance from the Union Ministry would be welcome, he said Meghalaya currently has 5,896 Anganwadi centres. Of these, 1,266 are mini-Anganwadi centres proposed to be upgraded.
He further said the state government sought a district programme officer each for South Garo Hills, the aspirational Ri-Bhoi district and East Khasi Hills, the biggest capital district with 12 ICDS projects.
Lyngdoh said the Centre had sought clarifications about a letter sent by the state government on July 27, 2022, seeking assistance. His predecessor, Kyrmen Shylla had replied on January 12.
“Meghalaya has 12 districts and five DPOs under ICDS and it would greatly benefit the state if more DPO posts are sanctioned,” he said.
“Under ICDS, the state has 4,54,173 beneficiaries inclusive of children up to 6 years, pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls and it is heartening to report that 97% of the beneficiaries are Aadhaar covered,” Lyngdoh said.
This is a remarkable improvement from about 13 % at the time of the APIP meeting in Shillong on May 12, he added.
The minister said the department had set June 30 as the target to enroll all eligible beneficiaries through an intensive and aggressive campaign. The Aadhaar saturation was 95% by June 30, which is currently 97%, he said. “A lot of hard work and perseverance led to this achievement for the state. The state government would like to thank the Ministry of Women and Child Development for its support and guidance on this matter,” Lyngdoh said, requesting the continuation of the Supplementary Nutrition Programme and support under the ECD Mission.
He further stated that the government is tying up with central PSUs handling civil works for preparing DPRs for leveraging funds under the NIRBHAYA corpus, especially with regard to supporting and enabling infrastructure for women’s safety.
