EXCLUSIVE: Out of 4000 plus Anganwadi Centers in Delhi, 993 do not have toilets, 318 missing drinking water

New Delhi: At a time when the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and consequently the entire country is stressing on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and making of toilets in every home... ...At a time when the government is running advertisement campaigns on TV and radio to educate the masses about the importance of cleanliness and toilets, the Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) in Delhi are projecting an altogether different gloomy picture. An RTI query has revealed that 993 AWCs out of 4428 (as per wcddel.in) in the national capital Delhi do not have toilets. Not to mention that if this is the case with those present in Delhi, what will be the condition of others in the different parts of the country. If you think this is too much then let us tell you about the availability of drinking water facility in AWCs. The same RTI has also revealed that there are 318 AWCs which do not have drinking water available. In order to understand better how serious the matter is, Anurag Kumar of ABP Live has an exclusive conversation with Ms Jaya Singh, AGM Child Rights and You-CRY (a non-profit organization working in India for the rights of the children). "Anganwadi centers are supposed to provide basic health care and non-formal preschool education for children between the age of 0- 6 . They are supposed to ensure that regular immunization, supplementary nutrition, safe drinking water, clean functional toilets are available so that children get the care, protection and early learning (sanitation, hygiene besides elementary education) they require", she said. "The Woman and Child development ministry (WCD) which oversees the functioning of the Anganwadi Centers under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) must ensure that every Anganwadi Center is well equipped in terms of basic supplements, infrastructure, and manpower. They must carry regular inspection of these centers to ensure that they function as per norms," she added. On being asked that why there is this lack of basic facilities, is it because of lack of funds or casual attitude of the administration, Ms Jaya said,-"Both. Children constitute a significant portion of the population yet they are not accorded the priority they deserve. The rights of children have never been an important component while taking important decisions on children in terms of schemes and budgetary allowances." "For the youngest of our children, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) remains the most significant support scheme. However, ICDS covers only 50 per cent of the population of children in India and has been facing a huge shortage in terms of manpower which adversely impacts the delivery of services", AGM CRY said. "Despite this, the budgetary allocation for ICDS this year was reduced. With the decreased allocation, we are faced with the question of how would the government ensure better infrastructure, skilled human resource and greater reach to this most vulnerable population of children to address issues of their care, health, nutrition and pre-school education," she said. We tried to contact Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia for his comments but despite repeated efforts Aam Aadmi Party leader was unavailable. Purpose of establishing AWCs: The Anganwadi centers were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. They come under Department of Women and Child Development.