Every anganwadi centre to have its own building soon, says Odisha Deputy CM Pravati Parida in Assembly

Bhubaneswar: There are total 74,224 Anganwadi centres in the State, of which 54,740 are operating from their own buildings, informed Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida while addressing the Assembly today. Parida, who heads the Women and Child Development Department, however said that 20,150 centres do not have their own spaces. 

Responding to a query BJD MLA Aswini Kumar Patra during the third day of the Winter Session, Parida said currently 7,389 anganwadi centres are under construction. The Deputy CM went on to add that 4,574 anganwadis are operating from schools, 3,890 in rented spaces and 10,469 in community centres. 

Moreover, 10,416 mini angwandi centres have been merged with the main centres in order to ensure smooth functioning and judicious use of resources. 

"Every anganwadi to have own building"

Parida also highlighted that the government, in the current supplementary budget, has made provision for 10,900 new constructions, and is in talks with various departments to expedite the process.

"The Women and Child Development Department is monitoring the construction work through the ‘Anganwadi Welfare and Service Oversight Monitoring Everywhere’ (AWESOME) app. Earlier, Rs 7 lakh was used for construction of each anganwadi unit, but costs later escalated to Rs 12 lakh and now Rs 15 lakh. But the department will independently fund the constructions. We will approach the Panchayati Raj department to facilitate land acquisition wherever possible. Nonetheless, we will ensure every anganwadi centre eventually has its own dedicated space," she assured. 

Also read: Odisha: Deputy CM Pravati Parida to visit Kotia, review developmental projects