Rs 17 crore allocated for anganwadis’ upgrade

Chandigarh, July 18

Women and Child Development Minister Aseem Goel today announced that the buildings of anganwadis would be repaired as needed, and new buildings would be constructed in several villages.

In the first phase, Rs 17 crore have been released for the repair and renovation of 1,000 anganwadi buildings.

He said the amount had been issued to the Development and Panchayats Department, which, through the Chief Executive Officers of the District Councils, will act as the nodal agency for the construction, repair, and renovation of anganwadis. He has urged the department to start the work immediately and complete it within the deadline.

He said in the future, while the existing infrastructure of anganwadis would be strengthened, new buildings and the establishment of Panjiri plants would also be undertaken. Besides, a multipurpose departmental building would be constructed in Ambala.

Goel said the children and women-centered schemes and programmes were being implemented through a well-organised network of 25,450 anganwadis across the state. These anganwadis provide supplementary nutrition, preschool education, immunisation, health education, health check-ups, and referral services to approximately 12 lakh beneficiaries.

He said around 9,900 anganwadis were operating in department-owned buildings, while the other anganwadis were in either school premises or other departmental buildings.