eneficiaries instead of providing them with food worked out by ministry mandarins and is expected to grains through ration shops. be operationalised in the near future. “The DCTs were met with resistance in Puducherry However, dismantling a program of the size of ICDS where protests erupted against them. Now the people will not be easy. There are many factors at work. ICDS there are getting both the cash transfers and also rice projects involve large contracts running into thousands though the quantity of rice has been decreased,” said of crores. Sinha says, “In UP, the supplementary Sinha. nutrients contract worth over Rs 1000 crore had been The most recent study on the DCTs, undertaken by contracted to the liquor baron Ponty Chadda's Great researchers from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Value Food. Several nutritionists had accused this Action Lab and commissioned by the NITI Aayog, has group of providing substandard food, a finding which come up with mixed findings, Many of those was confirmed by tests conducted by the premier interviewed said they preferred cash transfers as they National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad.' could use the money to buy better quality grain. Nutritionists also point to the absurdity of replacing However, a large number were not even aware that wholesome fresh food with packaged food that money had been transferred into their account. contains preservatives which are particularly If this is the situation with MGNREGA, cash transfers damaging for the health of young children. are likely to be even less effective in ICDS, given that It now appears, from recent news reports, that Swami the prospective beneficiaries are entirely women and Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurveda is set to bag the Rs 700 children. Low female literacy, distance from banks and crore mid-day meal program for UP where cooked inability to directly access and control bank accounts food will be replaced by nutrient packets. In will ensure that the money, if it reaches the accounts at Maharashtra moves were made to replace freshlyall, will go into the hands of male family members and cooked meals with ready-to-cook packed food and may be easily diverted for spending on items other than tenders were issued for it. The MWCD had been toying nutritious food. with the proposal to provide ready-to-use therapeutic Nutritionists warn that there are major bottlenecks food for children with severe malnutrition but this involved in cash transfers and it is keeping this in mind proposal was vetoed by the health ministry. This led that states like Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and the MWCD to backtrack and Maharashtra was forced to southern states have spent time and money in cancel its tenders for this scheme. streamlining their PDS systems. Odisha, for example, Devika Singh, doyen of Mobile Crèche that provides has de-privatised ration shops and handed over their services to urban poor settlements, is aghast at all these running to co-operatives, self- help groups and developments. ` It defies belief that we want to hand panchayats and this has proved effective. over this life saving scheme to corporate houses who Gandhi is also making a strong push for 'nutrient function on the basis of profit motives.' packets', declaring these will reach every child through She says the need is to restructure the ICDS and link it the postal service. If that happens, the Anganwadi with the government's Early Childhood Care & workers' primary role as providers of food and feeders Education policy. “The ECCE focuses on developing of children will be diminished. Anganwadi workers, the cognitive, socio-emotional and creative skills of treated by the state as poorly paid volunteers are kids under six and also to provide a synergy with their becoming increasingly vocal, have organised into health and nutrition requirements.” Ideally, the trade unions and are demanding that they receive anganwadi should house a creche and provide full day proper wages. The government may be anxious to rid services so that children under six and their mothers itself of the financial burden that will accrue in the are served in a holistic way, she suggests. The Rajiv years to come. Gandhi National Creche scheme with a meagre budget Apart from the anganwadi workers, another 25 lakh of Rs 200 crore covers only 3.37 lakh kids whereas women are employed in ICDS to cook and serve the 2.32 crore kids need to be taken care of, Singh points food. Is the government going to get rid of them Sinha out. asks. Instead of expanding ICDS and incorporating such For the present, MCWD secretary Rakesh Srivastava progressive measures, the government seems to be says that the ministry has no concrete plan to replace going one step backwards. But India's impoverished, cooked meals, it can provide only guidelines and it is underfed and often unlettered mothers and their for the states to take action. The states have no plans to children need much more than just a bit of cash in the replace hot cooked meals since this is part of the NFSA bank. with anganwadis playing a crucial role in overseeing Rashme Sehgal is a freelance journalist based in their implementation, he says. Delhi. But whatever explanation Srivastava may offer, others in the ministry admit a pilot project on DCTs has been 16 October 2017 <strong>JK</strong>
Hasarat Pages Heritage of Art & Culture 17 October 2017 <strong>JK</strong>
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