NREGA workers to make over 3 lakh anganwadis

Will use funds from the ministry of women and child development for the construction

​Union Ministry of Rural Development has decided to include the construction of anganwadi centres in the schedule of permissible works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.

Under the new work, NREGA workers would build about 3.5 lakh anganwadis using funds for the purpose from the ministry of women and child development (WCD).

The women and child development ministry has funds of close to Rs 7,000 crore meant for construction of additional 2 lakh anganwadis in the coming five years.

A convergence of the scheme with NREGA would enable addition of 1.5 lakh more buildings, which function as pre-school and feeding centres for children below the age of six years in rural areas under the Integrated Child Development Services programme of the WCD ministry.

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said that these anganwadi centres will also serve as meeting places for women’s self-help groups (SHGs) that are being formed under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, and also serve as crèches for children of women working under MGNREGA.

​As per existing norms in rural areas, there has to be one anganwadi centre for a population of 800; in the case of hilly and tribal areas, the population norm is one centre for a population of 300. In sparsely populated areas, there can be a mini-anganwadi for a population of 150.

There are about 13 lakh functioning anganwadi centres in the rural areas of the country, of which less than 50% have their own building. Thus, about 6.5-7 lakh anganwadi centres presently functioning are in need of new, pukka buildings.

​"This new policy change is not only an example of effective convergence of MGNREGA with other development schemes but also of a permanent long-term community asset being created under it”, said Ramesh.

He also said that this is an opportunity for demonstrating the use of low-cost building technologies using local materials on a large scale.

Though list of works under NREGA had undergone expansion, construction work was so far limited to toilets.

Activists have been restraining the government from using NREGA for works that require more material inputs, saying that it would lead to dilution of NREGA resources meant for wages.