#Delhi: Centre minister Mrs Maneka Gandhi on Thursday pitched for providing packaged food under the government’s supplementary nutrition scheme ICDS. The ICDS scheme is one of the largest schemes of its kind with an estimated 10.2 crore beneficiaries including children under six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
However, despite decades of implementation malnutrition levels continue to be very high in India. The World Bank estimates that India has one of the highest prevalence of malnutrition in the world. Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year. The controversial move could run foul as successive Supreme Court orders since 2004 have advocated the use of self-help groups and village communities to provide hot, cooked meals to children under six. Food rights activists fear that the minister’s proposal to provide packaged food could provide an edge to private players.
“Instead of giving it to Anganwadi or mothers or villagers to make food, why don’t we have it made at the central place by a company, whether government or not, and give a dedicated quantity of food to children every day,” Maneka Gandhi, minister for women and child development said. She said the pre-cooked meals would have the required amount of micro-nutrients, healthy grains like millets and ragi and would be manufactured and transported in a hygienic environment. The minister said that she had seen some exemplary work in Madhya Pradesh where a non-government organization was tasked with preparing the meals and then distributing the “pouches” to anganwadis nearby.
“We can put iron or folic acids into these regular foods like poha, so that children can get hygienic and nutritious food,” she said. One of the significant problems plaguing the ICDS scheme is the lack of quality food, uneven distribution, siphoning of food and leakages. However activists have been of the opinion, backed by the SC, that accountability can only be enhanced if the food is made within the community. Despite SC instructions, there have been recent examples of violations by states like #Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh where private contractors were given contracts to supply #supplementary #nutrition.
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