Kothagudem: Funds worth lakhs of rupees under various heads from the Central government are being released for a number of welfare schemes to the states every year. There is, however, a question whether these funds are being spent on the targeted beneficiaries or not. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi stated long back that only 16 paise of every rupee reaches the poor. His estimate was supported by famous economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The NDA government at the Centre, in a bid to check the pilferage at any cost, selected National Nutrition Mission (NNM). Bhadradri Kothagudem district is one among the 315 districts selected for the year in 2017-18 to address issue of malnutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight and stunted growth in India. Another 235 districts will be covered in 2018-19 and the remaining districts will be brought under it in 2019-2020.
An important feature in the scheme is to check pilferage by using information technology, which is a basic tool of the scheme. Under, information and communications technology (ICT )-based real-time monitoring system, the states should meet their targets, social audits, and setting up of nutrition resource centres. If the system is made successful, each rupee allocated by the government will reach the beneficiary.
About 85,396 beneficiaries including 51,786 kids of zero to three years, 16,486 children between three and six years, 6,752 new mothers and 10,372 pregnant women in Bhadradri district will be benefited with the scheme. Aanganwadi workers will be given smartphones and their supervisors smart tablets to monitor daily activities of feeding to the children, pregnant women and newborn babies and their mothers.
They should compile reports and send them to the higher officials. The move will be a deviation from the old practice of maintaining registers. The states should meet their targets, social audits and setting up of nutrition resource centres. There is no chance for the Aanganwadi teacher and supervisor to play foul in extending food of nutritional value to the beneficiaries because they will show online real time feeding every day.
