*Serious note taken of vague replies of ICDS Director
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 19: Taking serious note of ambiguous replies of Director, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in the much publicized case of supply of rotten food items to Anganwari centres, the Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) has directed the Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Social Welfare Department to furnish action taken on the findings of the officials committee and steps taken to ensure that such incidents don’t take place in any part of the State in future.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the grave issue of supply of rotten food items to the Anganwari centres came to the fore in Pulwama district nearly a year back and much hue and cry was raised as health of large number of children was involved. Not only the officers and officials associated with Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) but also those at the helm of affairs in the Social Welfare Department came under severe criticism from various quarters.
Thereafter, a committee of officers headed by the Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Pulwama was constituted to look into the serious issue and it was explicitly mentioned in the order that the committee shall submit its report within a period of two weeks. Even samples of rotten food supplied to Anganwari centres were lifted for analysis in the laboratories.
Keeping in view the concern of the people, the Government even directed the Tehsildars to conduct regular inspections of Anganwari centres within their respective jurisdiction to ensure that pure, branded and high quality foot items are supplied to Anganwari centres. However, what steps have been initiated on the findings of the committee was never made public by the ICDS authorities and top brass of Social Welfare Department.
Taking suo-moto cognizance of this grave issue, the Accountability Commission issued one after another notice to the Director of ICDS seeking to know the recommendations made by the committee of officers and steps taken to implement the same. However, initially there was no response from the Director but following tough stance by the Accountability Commission a formal reply was submitted, which however was found ambiguous by the Full Commission few days back.
“Now, the Full Commission comprising Justice B A Khan (Chairperson) and Justice J P Singh and Justice B A Kirmani (Members) has issued notice to the Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Social Welfare Department seeking to know the actual findings and recommendations of the officers panel and the steps taken by the department to implement the same”, sources said, adding the Commission has also forwarded the copy of notice to the Minister for Social Welfare, Sajad Gani Lone so as to ensure that he also remains abreast with the developments in the case.
“Another objective behind sending copy of notice to the Minister is to ensure that he takes necessary steps to improve the system vis-à-vis supply of substandard items to the Anganwari centres”, sources said, adding “with this step the Minister cannot escape from the responsibility of streamlining the things vis-à-vis Integrated Child Development Scheme”.
They said, “this is not the isolated case of supply of substandard food items to the Anganwari centres which have been established for the facility of children of poor sections of society”, adding “numerous such incidents have been reported from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir during the past one and half year but till date not even one officer/official of the ICDS has been taken to task for playing with the lives of children”.
“Either there is a strong nexus in the ICDS wing of the Social Welfare Department or top brass of Social Welfare Department doesn’t want to come out of deep slumber despite the fact that supply of substandard food items to Anganwari centres amounts to playing with the lives of children”, sources remarked.
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