CAG Report on ICDS Implementation Urges Corrective Steps for Better Child Welfare

The report highlights that 1,299 Anganwadi centers (2.45%) lacked toilets, and 1,032 centers (1.95%) did not have access to drinking water facilities.

An audit by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department on the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme revealed critical gaps in Anganwadi infrastructure, staffing shortages, incomplete targets for nutrition programs (including supplementary nutrition, early childhood care, and prenatal/postnatal care), and unspent funds in the “personal ledgers” of development officers. These findings prompted the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to recommend “corrective action.”

The performance audit, covering eight out of 33 districts from 2015-16 to 2022-23, included interactions with 10 District Programme Officers (DPOs), 22 Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs), and on-ground inspections of 99 Anganwadi centers (AWCs) across 22 blocks.

Gujarat faces a shortage of 16,045 Anganwadi centers. While 4.034 million children (up to 6 years) were enrolled between 2015-2023, the 2011 census indicates a need for 7.777 million enrollments. The report also assessed the “adequacy of basic facilities” at Anganwadis, flagging “significant challenges” that impact the quality of services under the ICDS scheme.

Infrastructure Shortfalls

Out of 53,029 Anganwadi centers, 3,381 operated from temporary structures, 30 were in open spaces, and 8,452 buildings were dilapidated. The WCD Department has yet to ensure safe, permanent centers for service delivery. Notably, none of the centers built between 2015-2023 met the mandated 600 sq. ft. covered area for 30 children, leading to overcrowding.

Water, Sanitation, and Accessibility Issues

Beyond missing toilets and drinking water, efforts to improve accessibility for children with disabilities fell short. In 2019-20, the WCD allocated ₹2.00 crore to 11 districts for constructing ramps with railings at 807 centers. By September 2023, only 220 centers (27.26%) had completed the work.

Nutrition and Hygiene Concerns

Inspections at 99 centers found missing cooking utensils, storage for Take-Home Ration (THR) packets, growth monitoring tools, and medicine kits. Poor infrastructure left ₹3.82 crore worth of water purifiers unused. Inadequate storage and pest control led to rodent contamination of THR packets at 11 centers.

Funds Left Unused

As of March 2023, ₹242.39 crore remained unspent across seven districts and 12 blocks, parked in the “personal ledgers” of district and taluka officers. The WCD Department excluded these funds during budgeting and submitted incorrect Utilization Certificates (UCs) to the central government. Between 2015-19, ₹69.73 crore in grants was parked but shown as spent in UCs. An additional ₹5.05 crore lay unused with the department as of March 2023.

Staffing Gaps and Delayed Reforms

56.70% of CDPO posts and 14.35% of female supervisor roles in blocks were vacant. Despite a 2018 central directive, the state failed to transition to new insurance schemes (PMJJBY/PMSBY) offering enhanced benefits for staff.

Mixed Progress on Key Programs

While Gujarat’s online system for monitoring THR supply (launched January 2020) drew praise, only 86% (3.99 crore) of 4.63 crore beneficiaries under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) received benefits. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) coverage remained low, with just 18.79% of children aged 3-6 enrolled in Anganwadis (2015-2023). However, 94% of infants under one year were covered under universal immunization.

Nutrition and Maternal Health

Efforts to reduce underweight infants saw modest success (12.33% in 2017-18 to 11.63% in 2022-23), but fell short of the National Nutrition Mission’s annual 2% reduction target. Prenatal/postnatal care for pregnant and lactating mothers lagged, with poor registration rates and inadequate coverage of checkups, immunizations, and iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets.

Government Response

The CAG audit included a detailed review of documents from the WCD, Health, and Commissionerate departments. While the government acknowledged gaps and promised corrective steps during inspections, a senior ICDS official declined to comment on the findings, stating, “We haven’t studied the report tabled in the Assembly yet… We cannot remark on the conclusions at this time.”