Haryana Government will strengthen and restructure the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme through a series of programmatic, management and institutional reforms, including putting ICDS in a mission mode. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Saturday approved the proposal to strengthen the ICDS.
An official spokesman said that ICDS will be implemented in mission mode which would require strong implementation, monitoring, supervision mechanism right from Central level to grass root level. The existing service delivery mechanism will be strengthened through setting up of Child Development Societies at State or District and Block level.
He said that at State level, the State ICDS Mission would be carried out through the State Child Development Society that will be headed by the State Mission Director who will be senior officer of the State Government of the rank of a Special Secretary. The State Mission Director will be vested with appropriate executive and financial powers as approved by the State Mission Steering Group (SMSG) to enable him or her to function in effective manner to achieve the goals of the ICDS Mission.
The infrastructure and human resource of the existing State ICDS Cell would be subsumed with the overall structure of the State Child Development Society. The State ICDS Mission would provide additional resources to the States to enable them to meet the diverse nutrition and child development needs of young children. The Chief Minister would be the chairperson of the State ICDS Mission whereas Minister in charge Women and Child Development would be the co-chairperson.
The functions of State ICDS Mission would be overseeing child development and nutrition system; consideration of policy matters related with child development and nutrition; to review progress in implementation of ICDS in mission mode by tracking child related outcomes, using nutrition status of young children under three years as the lead outcome indicator; facilitate inter-sectoral coordination and convergence and advice on advocacy measures required to promote ICDS visibility in the State among others.
The State ICDS Mission would meet at least once in every six months and would have powers to co-opt members as and when needed. likewise, the State Mission Steering Group (SMSG) headed by the Chief Minister will be the apex body for providing direction, policy and guidance for implementation of ICDS. The State Mission Steering Group would meet at least once in three months.
The spokesperson said that the State Empowered Programme Committee (SEPC) headed by the Chief Secretary would be the highest technical body for planning, supervision and monitoring the effective implementation of ICDS at the state level. The functions of SEPC would be to consider and approve proposals from districts and other implementing agencies or District Action Plans; prepare State Action Plan for approval of State Mission Steering Group; execution of approved State Action Plan; review implementation and achievement of child related outcomes; analysis of lagging districts and supportive action;.
The spokesman said that the at District level, every district would have a District ICDS Mission headed by chairperson of its Zila Parishad and District Programme Officer ICDS of the concerned district would be the District Mission Director. A District ICDS Mission Directorate would be set up in every district to support the District ICDS Mission for effectively discharging its duties. The Anganwadi level Monitoring and Support Committee on ICDS has already been formed and the same would be considered as Village or Ward level ICDS Mission Committee.