While Gujarat is symbolic of India’s economic advancement — and the BJP never shies away from portraying it — the party always downplays how poorly the state delivers in social indicators. In fact, in areas such as controlling child stunting, Gujarat ranks as low as 24th out of 30 Indian states.
Gujarat has a recorded shortage of over 16,045 Anganwadis, a key component of India’s Integrated Child Development Services scheme. Anganwadi centres address malnutrition issues by offering supplementary feeding programmes that provide fresh meals and take-home rations having nutritious ingredients.
Ironically, grants and funds reserved for setting up new Anganwadi centres remain unutilised or are allocated for other purposes, claims Shaktisinh Gohil, Gujarat Congress president and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audit this year has identified a shortage of 16,045 AWCs in the state. The report noted, “The average number of enrolled children (zero to six years of age) from 2015-16 to 2022-23 was 40.34 lakh, against 77.77 lakh children as per Census 2011. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme fell short in providing preschool education (PSE) to 18.79 percent of children aged three to six years enrolled in AWCs during the period from 2015 to 2023.”
The performance audit also found that 1,299 AWCs (2.45%) had no toilets and that 1,032 AWCs (1.95%) lacked water facilities. “The BJP does not stop bragging about the investment it is fetching and the facilities it is extending to the already rich industrialists. But when it comes to middle class and poor Gujaratis, the record of the BJP government is dismal. The fact that 1299 Anganwadis in Gujarat do not have toilet facilities speaks volumes about the myth of vibrant Gujarat,” senior Congresswoman and former Rajya Sabha MP Amee Yajnik said.
Even when it comes to tackling malnutrition and education, Gujarat’s figures are abysmally low.
The CAG report presented in the Gujarat Assembly cautioned the ruling BJP government for its poor record on child nutrition. According to the latest figures in Gujarat, the percentage of low birth weight infants is a staggering 11.63%. This percentage, according to the CAG, is shocking. The Gujarat government has failed to bring it down by a minimum of two percent every year as per the National Nutrition Mission guidelines, the CAG noted.
Talking to Vibes of India, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, senior Congressman Amit Chavda said the ruling BJP government did not purchase the required 3.27 lakh tonnes of grain earmarked for children and women for Anganwadis in the last eight years owing to overspending in other departments. This point, Chavda mentioned, has been highlighted by the CAG report.
Development is not just about mythical, non-collaborated figures and statistics but a holistic social and developmental index that portrays balanced progress. The CAG has also flagged Gujarat several times, questioning its performance on social and developmental indices, says Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil.
Chavda said the ruling BJP government was not dedicating adequate time to discuss the concerns raised by the CAG on issues regarding social development indices in Gujarat.
Citing figures from the CAG, Gohil said the government’s priorities are seen in the 49% shortage of teachers in government institutions. The government is not interested in consolidating quality and affordable education in government setups but wants to promote private universities instead. Government medical colleges have been functioning with a 68% staff shortage, he highlighted. The fact that only 52% of children are enrolled in Anganwadis in Gujarat reflects the state of government-run care centres, he lamented.
The CAG report also highlighted the under-registration of pregnant women (PW) and inadequate antenatal and postnatal services available in Gujarat.
The performance audit of the ‘Implementation of Integrated Child Development Services Scheme’ was conducted through a test-check of the records of the Women and Child Development Department, the Health and Family Welfare Department, the Women and Child Development Commissionerate, as well as field-level implementing units like the offices of the District Programme Officers, Child Development Project Officers, and Anganwadi Centres, covering the period from 2015 to 20523.
In Gujarat, the ICDS scheme is being implemented by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department through a network of 53,029 AWCs, which serve an estimated population of 5.53 crore people as of March 2023, the report said.
“The percentage of low-birth-weight infants decreased from 12.33% (2017-18) to 11.63% in 2022-23. However, the department is yet to achieve the target of reducing the proportion of low-birth-weight newborns by 2% per annum as per the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) guidelines of 2017,” the report noted.
The report stated that the number of pregnant women registered with the state health department was much higher than under the ICDS scheme.
“During the period 2015-23, a total of 108.31 lakh P&LMs (pregnant and lactating mothers) were registered with the state health department for availing various health services. Out of these 108.31 lakh beneficiaries, 61.66 lakh beneficiaries were also registered under the ICDS scheme for the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) at the AWC level,” it said.
The audit also assessed the adequacy of AWC buildings and essential infrastructure within the department. The report added that of the total 53,029 AWCs in the state, 3,381 were operating from temporary structures and 30 were located in open spaces.
“Additionally, 8,452 AWCs had dilapidated buildings, indicating that the WCD Department is yet to ensure safe and secure permanent AWC buildings for service delivery under the scheme. None of the AWCs, including those built between 2015 and 2023, met the specified requirement of a covered area of 600 square feet per 30 children, leading to overcrowding,” the report pointed out.
“In the state, 1,299 AWCs (2.45%) had no toilets, and 1,032 AWCs (1.95%) lacked drinking water facilities. Additionally, in 2019-20, the WCD Department released grants of Rs 200.13 lakh to 11 districts for the construction of ramps with railings for easy accessibility for children with disabilities at 807 AWCs, of which only 220 AWCs (27.26%) had constructed ramp facilities (as of September 2024),” the report added.
During visits to 99 selected AWCs, it was observed that cooking and serving utensils, storage facilities for Take-Home Ration (THR) packets, growth measurement devices, and medicine kits were lacking, it added.
“Inadequate storage facilities in several AWCs resulted in contamination of Take-Home Ration packets by rodents in 11 AWCs. Inefficient pest control measures compounded this issue,” the report said.
The audit report also found that grants were unused for Anganwadi centres.
“In seven of eight selected districts and 12 out of 22 selected blocks, a substantial amount of Rs 242.39 crore remained unspent as of March 2023. These funds were held in the Personal Ledger Accounts of District Development Officers and Taluka Development Officers,” the report said, recommending that the state government develop a strategic plan for Anganwadi centre networks.
The state government must conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current AWC network and develop a strategic plan that outlines clear targets for establishing new AWCs and upgrading existing ones, along with timelines and resource allocation, the report emphasised.
The CAG audit’s conclusions highlight glaring issues in Gujarat’s social welfare and development strategy. Disregard for basic privileges like child nutrition, education, and infrastructure for Anganwadis can’t be papered over despite claims of economic growth. There is a clear gap between Gujarat’s economic aspirations and its social realities, as evidenced by the government’s incapacity to use allotted funds, solve staffing shortages, and provide critical services for the most vulnerable. As the CAG report suggests, development must be inclusive and must reach all segments of society, especially the most underprivileged. On this count, the ruling party seems to be falling well short.
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