JEYPORE: In the tribal-dominated Koraput district of Odisha, Anganwadi workers (AWWs) are scared of visiting the village grocery stores. With most of them not paid for the food items required for supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) for last six months, each has run up bills running to thousands of rupees. The total due to be cleared in Jeypore region alone now stands at a staggering `50 lakh.
The supplementary nutrition programme of the State Government targets pregnant women, lactating mothers and children upto five years of age. As per the Government norms, cooked nutritious food and boiled eggs are provided to the beneficiaries in around 325 anganwadi centres in Jeypore region under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
The AWWs buy grocery materials and eggs from the local markets with assurance by the authorities that the bills will be cleared later. The Government pays Rs 7.47 for each meal and Rs 5.80 for one boiled egg. According to sources, the AWWs in the area have not been paid for the materials procured by them since April as a result of which the total due has piled up.
“We have been demanding before the officials concerned to clear the dues so that we can pay the shop-keepers but they continue to shift the responsibility to one another,” said Ahalya Bai, the president of Jeypore AWWs association. Under the circumstances, the AWWs have decided to stop the programme, she added.
“We are helpless now as the shop-keepers are reluctant to supply the grocery on credit without clearing the dues,” said Saudamini, another AWW of Jeypore.
The AWWS alleged that the negligence on the part of the supervisors and child development project officer (CDPO) are main reasons for the irregularities. While the CDPO blames the sector supervisors for not submitting reports under different schemes, the latter shifts the responsibility to the former for not forwarding their reports to district social security officer (DSSO), Koraput for payment.
Jeypore CDPO Pravati Tripathy admitted that she had been getting complaints of delay in payment to AWWs for running the Government scheme but appealed to the AWWs to run the scheme by borrowing food materials till their dues are cleared.
Meanwhile, Anganwadi workers’ association has warned the Child and Woman Welfare department that they would not be held responsible if the scheme is stopped soon.