The lack of affordable nutritious food for pregnant women and malnourished children in rural areas has caught the attention of the Nagpur Zilla Parishad.
The local-self government has decided to implement the scheme on priority basis and enhanced the annual plan outlay for over Rs 10 lakh in the current financial year.
The ZP's Women and Child Welfare Committee adopted a unanimous resolution to this effect on Thursday. It was decided to provide succour to such pregnant women, the new mothers, newborns and malnourished children in the form of nutritious food, biscuits and laddoos through anganwadis in Nagpur district.
The food proposed to be provided would be a good source of essential nutrients that are often missing from the diet of rural women and children.
Committee member Ashok Tandulkar proposed the issue for debate in the committee meeting. The committee has Rs 7 lakh surplus in its kitty under the district annual plan programme in the current financial year. A debate was also held for proper planning and appropriation of this fund.
This fund is currently being used to provide supplementary diet to malnourished children, lactating and pregnant women. The same fund must also be used for providing cookies, laddu and other nutritious food to malnutritious children, lactating and pregnant women, it was mooted in the meeting.
{{/usCountry}}This fund is currently being used to provide supplementary diet to malnourished children, lactating and pregnant women. The same fund must also be used for providing cookies, laddu and other nutritious food to malnutritious children, lactating and pregnant women, it was mooted in the meeting.
{{/usCountry}}While endorsing the proposal, Vandana Pal, president of the committee, said that in addition to Rs 7 lakh, an amount of Rs 10 lakh would also be utilized from the cess fund for executing the said project.
"We have also decided to set up a monitory committee to supervise its implementation in rural areas of the district so that the needy get the benefits," says Tandulkar, one of the members of the committee, who initiated the proposal in the meeting.