Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Thursday said that the State would become malnutrition free in the next three years.
“To achieve this goal, State Nutrition Mission would be established as per the guidelines of National Nutrition Mission. The draft of the same has already been prepared,” said the Chief Minister while speaking at a national level consultation workshop on Management and Elimination of Malnutrition in Haryana.
Expressing concern over the status of malnutrition, the Chief Minister said that though the State has ample resources, yet there is a need to generate awareness about various programmes being implemented by the Government for the prevention of malnutrition among children.
Emphasizing the need to activate all units at grass root level for maximum awareness, he exhorted the Deputy Commissioners and others present to ensure participation of Panchayati Raj Institutions for proper implementation and monitoring of all such programmes to achieve desired results.
The government would also set up a separate cell at state level for monitoring purposes so that Haryana would become malnutrition free in real terms in coming three years, he added.
The Chief Minister said that Panjiri made of fortified flour was already being given in Anganwari Centres. Now, we have also decided to provide other items of fortified flour in these centres in the first phase. The government had also launched a pilot project in Barara and Naraingarh blocks for distributing fortified wheat flour to tackle malnutrition in women and children, said he.
This practice would be replicated in other parts of the state. In addition, it has also been decided to provide one litre fortified edible oil to BPl families on subsidized rates, said Manohar lal.
Speaking on this occasion, Member NITI Ayog, Dr Vinod Paul said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the National Nutrition Mission to address the problem of malnutrition. Under this, all the children should be nutritional by the year 2022. Such programmes should be implemented on mass movement, he added.