Parl panel pulls up govt over lack of basic amenities in Anganwadi centres

New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) A key financial panel of the Parliament has pulled up the government for paying poor remuneration to Anganwadi workers and helpers, asking it to revise their wages in a manner which is commensurate with their work.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a key financial panel of Lok Sabha, has also directed the government to provide facilities like drinking water and toilets in Anganwadis in a time-bound manner.

In its report, presented to the Parliament on Wednesday, the Ministry for Women and Child Development has been asked to revise and increase the remuneration of Anganwadi workers and helpers appropriately.

It expressed dismay over the fact that despite earlier reminders about salaries of Anganwadi workers and helpers being low and unattractive, the ministry had not done much about it.

The committee noted that there are large number of vacancies in the posts of Anganwadi workers and helpers on account of meagre wages being paid to them.

"The critical role played by these Anganwadi workers and helpers during the Covid period cannot be ignored as they were tasked with distributing rations along with carrying out their main responsibilities pertaining to primary health care and immunisation, supplementary nutrition, educating families about family planning measures etc. The committee, therefore feels that it is high time that the Anganwadi workers get due recognition for the selfless and continuous services they have been providing," it noted in its observations.

In this context, the panel, which is headed by Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has asked the government to revise their wages in such a manner that the benefits and salaries being paid to them should be commensurate with the work that they have been performing and for this, the ministry should seek necessary budgetary support also.

The panel further noted that as many Anganwadi centres are functioning from temporary structures and semi-pucca premises, which may not have toilets or drinking water facilities, the ministry should moot a proposal for providing mobile toilets in states where the Anganwadi centres don't have them.