Lok Sabha Question No. 804 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-07
Subject: Anganwadi Centres in rented Building
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Shri Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 804

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2025

## ANGANWADI CENTRES IN RENTED BUILDING

804.     SHRI AMRINDER SINGH RAJA WARRING: SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM: SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  about  half  of  the  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  are  operated  from Government buildings while the rests are operated from rented premises or other spaces;
- (b) if  so, the details of the number of AWCs operating in independent Government buildings, rented premises, open space and other spaces;
- (c) the  funds  allocated  and  utilized  during  the  last  three  years  for  constructing independent building and upgrading existing AWC infrastructure in Bihar during the last three years, indicating the number of buildings constructed along with the status ongoing or upcoming projects;
- (d) the  measures  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  that  all  AWCs  have adequate and dedicated infrastructure, especially in rural and remote areas;
- (e) whether the Government is aware of specific challenges faced by AWCs in remote and tribal areas, such as accessibility issues, delayed transportation reimbursements for take-home rations and irregular rent grants; and
- (f) if so, the details of these measures and the timeline for their implementation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) and (b) As  per  Poshan  Tracker  data  of  December  2024,  out  of  13.96  Lakh Anganwadi centers (AWCs), 10.38 lakh AWCs are operating in Govt owned buildings, Panchayat buildings, co-located in schools or in  community buildings etc. Around 3.58 lakh AWCs are operating in rented buildings.

(c) to (f) During the 15 th  Finance Commission cycle, 2 lakh Anganwadi Centres @ 40,000  AWCs  per  year  are  to  be  upgraded  as  Saksham  Anganwadis  for  improved nutrition  delivery  and  for  imparting  early  childhood  care  and  development.  Saksham

Anganwadis  are  to  be  provided  with  better  infrastructure  than  the  conventional Anganwadi  Centres  which  includes  internet/Wi-Fi  connectivity,  LED  screens,  water purifier/installation  of  RO,  Machine  and  smart  learning  equipment.  During,  last  three years, an amount of Rs 16.98 crores has been released to State of Bihar for upgradation of 7116 AWCs into Saksham AWCs.

In order to improve the infrastructure facility of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), the Ministry has enhanced the provision for construction of drinking water facility at Anganwadi Centre to Rs.17,000/- from Rs 10,000/- earlier and for construction of toilet to Rs.36,000/- from Rs 12,000/- earlier.

Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, there is a provision of construction of 50000 AWCs buildings over a period of five years @10000 AWCs per year. The cost norms  for  construction  of  Anganwadi  Centres  in  convergence  with  Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) have been revised from Rs.7 Lakh per AWC to Rs.12 Lakh per AWC wherein Rs.8.00 Lakh would be provided under  MGNREGS, Rs.2.00 Lakh under 15 th   Finance  Commission  (FC)  (or  any  other untied funds) and Rs.2.00 Lakh by MWCD per AWC to be shared between Centre and States/UTs  in  the  prescribed  cost  sharing  ratio.  Further,  States/UTs  have  also  been advised to continue to tap funds for construction of AWC buildings from various schemes such  as  Member  of  Parliament  Local  Area  Development  Scheme  (MPLADS),  Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj Institutions,  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Act  (NREGA),  Multi-  Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) of Ministry of Minority Affairs, etc. During, last three years, an amount of Rs 44.40 crores has been released to State of Bihar for construction 6155 AWCs  in convergence with MGNREGS

Directions have been issued to States/UTs to co-locate Anganwadi Centres, which are running on rent without basic facilities, at nearby Primary Schools, wherever space is available.

Further, the Government has also decided to upgrade all Mini AWCs with one worker to full-fledged Anganwadi Centres with one worker and one helper each.

Under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  Anganwadi  workers  (AWWs)  have  been  technologically empowered  with  the  provision  of  smartphones  for  efficient  monitoring  and  service delivery.  The  mobile  application  Poshan  Tracker  digitizes  physical  registers  used  by Anganwadi workers. This improves the quality of their work while simultaneously allowing them real-time monitoring of all activities.

In addition to AWWs, Smartphones are provided to Supervisors and Block Coordinators also.  Similarly,  data  recharge  support  is  provided  to  AWWs,  Supervisors  and  Block Coordinators.

Regular monitoring of growth parameters is essential for identifying children who may be malnourished and for making timely interventions. Therefore, Anganwadi centres have been equipped with Growth Monitoring devices like infantometer, stadiometer, weighing scale-infant, weighing scale - Mother & Child.

The PM JANMAN Mission launched by Ministry of Tribal Affairs is aimed at targeted development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) residing in 18 States and a UT. This Mission focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 Ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development. A total of 2500 Anganwadi Centres are to be sanctioned and constructed at Rs 12 lakh per AWC in the three Financial Years i.e., FY 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

In addition to above, Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched Dharti Aaba Janjati Gram Unnat  Abhiyan  (DAJGUA)  aimed  at  improving  the  socio-economic  condition  of  tribal communities by adopting saturation coverage of tribal families in tribal majority areas and aspirational  block  ST  villages.  The  intervention  of  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child Development involves establishment of 2000 new Saksham AWCs and upgradation of 6000 existing AWCs to Saksham AWCs from FY 2024-25 to FY 2028-29.

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