Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Kailash Gahlot visited two Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in Humayunpur and Nizamuddin to understand the grievances of the staff there.

Gahlot interacted with Anganwadi Workers and Helpers regarding their demands and support required in maintaining and upscaling the services provided at the centres.

Director WCD Rashmi Singh, Joint Director WCD Nandini Maharaj, CDPO Humayunpur Neeru Gahlot, and CDPO Nizamuddin Manjula Kathuria were also present during his visit.

The department of Women and Child Development was added to the portfolio of Gahlot on 9th March following which preliminary meetings were conducted with senior department officials of WCD.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi has a network of 10,897 Anganwadi Centres which are divided across 95 sanctioned projects and have 10,653 Anganwadi Workers and 10,890 Anganwadi Helpers
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The POSHAN schemes delivered through this network of Anganwadis alone have benefitted 8.98 lakh beneficiaries in January, 2022 which includes children in the age group 0-3 years, 3-6 years and pregnant and lactating mothers.

Gahlot, after the visit, said “The entire Anganwadi staff has promised to continue working to ensure the smooth functioning of all centres. I’ve also assured them that the Delhi government will do everything in its capacity to address and resolve the demands and grievances they face.”

Gahlot also interacted with parents and children and enquired about the conditions of the centres, quality of early childhood care and education offered at the centres. The workers and helpers engaged with the Minister with gusto.

The Minister also chaired a meeting with all officials of WCD including the Director, Joint Directors, Deputy Directors, District Officers Child Development Project Officers and Welfare Officers after the visit to understand the structure, status of various schemes and monitoring mechanism of these schemes.

He also urged the senior officials to conduct regular visits to all centres, to ensure efficient functioning, accountability and transparency within the department.