PANAJI
Goa's 1200-odd Anganwadi centres are operating with a shade under 5 per cent workforce shortage. There are 91 positions vacant, the Rajya Sabha was told.
One Anganwadi centre in the State is currently shut, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development said.
Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur who furnished the written reply in the Upper House of Parliament also said that Goa was disbursed Rs 75 crore from the Centre for nutrition and other needs of Anganwadi children in the last five years.
Thakur was responding to queries related to staff shortages and lack of facilities at Anganwadi centres across the country.
In Goa, the ministry has approved 1,262 Anganwadi centres and one of them is not operating. Her reply said, there are 91 vacancies in these anganwadis, including 37 posts of Anganwadi workers and 54 posts of Anganwadi helpers.
She also said that Goa had utilized Rs 64.23 crore of the Rs 75.96 crore sanctioned by the Centre under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Nutrition 2.0 for these Anganwadi centres.
In the year 2019-20, Rs 16.02 crore came from the Centre but Rs 17.02 crore was spent by the State.
In the Covid-hit 2020-21 year, Rs 20.44 crore came from the Centre of which only Rs 17.46 crore was spent by the Goa Government.
In 2021-22, Rs 10.84 crore came from the Centre and Rs 12.92 crore was spent by the State government, while in 2022-23, Rs 14.71 crore was disbursed by the Centre and Rs 16.83 crore was spent by the State.
In 2023-24, Rs 13.95 crore had come from the Centre but the details of the expenditure are yet to be received, she said.
