Directives have been issued not to attach anganwadi workers and assistance to non-ICDS activities to ensure that anganwadis continue to render quality services. General Administration Department has issued a circular in this regard to all departments, heads of departments,
divisional commissioners, collectors and CEOs of district Panchayats.
Women and Child Development Department has issued directives from time to time that Anganwadi workers and assistants should not be deployed in on any duty other than ICDS services. It has been noticed that Anganwadi workers are deployed as motivators under Family Welfare Programme, target couple survey, Antyodaya survey, Swachchhata Doot, counting of toilets, testing of iodised salt, counting of wells in village and releasing medicines in them, census work, election duty, photo electoral roll preparation, work as booth level officer, survey under Samagra Social Security Mission, animal survey, animal census etc. If Anganwadi workers and assistants refuse to do these duties, actions like deduction from their honorarium and issuing show cause notices to them is taken.
Deployment of Anganwadi workers in non-ICDS works for long affects services of Anganwadi centres. Improvement in nutrition level in children is impeded. Rehabilitation of affected children takes a long time and needs additional efforts, which is not good for children’s health. Directives issued not to attach Anganwadi workers and assistants to non-ICDS works have been given in demi-official letter dated February 1, 2011, by Union Secretary Women and Child Development.
The state has 80,160 anganwadis and 12,070 mini anganwadis through which children upto 6 years of age are nourished by administering nutritious diet and imparted pre-school education. Anganwadis also render health and nutrition-related services to pregnant and lactating mothers. Special attention is also paid to caretaking of extremely underweight children.