Women and Child Dept Gets Rs 2,736 Crore in State Budget

Hyderabad: The state government has allotted Rs 2,736 crore towards women and child development in its Budget presented in the Assembly on Thursday. The government has focused on transforming Anganwadi centres by adding pre-nursery school facilities at these centres.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, while presenting the Budget also mentioned that these funds would also be utilised for reparation, sanitation and maintenance of government schools.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, the director for the Women and Child Welfare Commission said, “Previously, roughly Rs 1,700 crore was sanctioned. This time, as the government emphasised, our main focus would be on Anganwadi centres. Apart from that, we are planning to hire more counsellors and therapists for shelter and juvenile homes.”

“There are 37,500 Anganwadi centres, out of which, 15,600 have been recognised and will have these pre-nursery schools. Each of these schools will have one teacher along with a helper. We will currently be training the 13,500 pre-existing Anganwadi workers for teaching, but we might hire more.”

These Anganwadi centres are mainly meant to take care of children aged below 6 years and lactating mothers suffering from malnutrition.

Speaking of counsellors and doctors, the director said, “We currently have 40 counsellors and 40 therapists collectively for our shelter homes for trafficking victims, juveniles and Shishu Vihaar. We need more doctors to carry out routine check-ups of children there and so will be hiring more.”