BHUBANESWAR: As a large number of anganwadi centres in the State continue to operate from rented facilities and community centres, the government recently directed district Collectors to ensure that they are constructed on the premises of primary schools.
As per the government policy, all anganwadi centres should be co-located in schools as far as possible due to functional linkage. In a letter to the Collectors, Secretaries of Women and Child Welfare department and School and Mass Education departments Anu Garg and Satyabrata Sahu respectively, said no objection certificate (NOC) should not be insisted upon from the district and block education officers for taking up construction of new anganwadi centres on primary school premises. The decision of the site selection committee under the block development officer (BDO) for construction of anganwadi centres will be final.
The buildings of primary schools that were closed down due to merger owing to the inadequate number of children, may be used as anganwadi centres, provided the facilities are in good condition and have proper amenities. The officials directed for constitution of a committee under Sub-Collector to decide modalities for using such primary schools as anganwadi centres.
In a situation where anganwadi centre in a village is functioning from a rented facility and primary school of the village has an extra classroom, the centre shall be permitted to function in the available classroom.
But no anganwadi centre should function on the verandah of the school under any circumstances, the letter stated.