Replying to a starred question on the amount sanctioned under CSS, the incentives to AIAIWs and Helpers in the year 2422-23, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio highlighted that no specific amount is earmarked for incentives to Anganwadi workers and helpers under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).

The starred question was raised by Kuzholuzo Nienu, MLA at the 5th Session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. Nienu also enquired about the total number of AWWs and AWHs in the State and what was the amount disbursed to each AWW and Helper, to which Rio shared that there are 3980 AWWs and 3980 AWHs in the state.

An amount of Rs 500 each for AWW and Rs 250 each for AWH is transferred to the respective accounts on the basis of fulfilling the eligibility criteria as per the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) guidelines, the Chief Minister informed.

Further, he said that during the FY 2022-23, 27 AWWs and 46 AWHs were eligible for the incentives and payment was made to them through Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT). The eligibility list is auto generated in the POSHAN Tracker App.

During the supplementary question hour, Kuzholuzo Nienu raised concern over the Social Welfare Department’s misleading responses and strongly advised the Department over the need of transparency and emphasised that their inconsistent response would create issues for the government. He added that the information provided in the demand note also varied largely from their response.

He highlighted that they have written; Out of 3980 AWWs, only 27 percent had been identified and their money had been disbursed through direct beneficiary transfer, which means 3953 are left out.

Another section was the AWHs; Out of 3980, only 46 AWHs were eligible for their incentives and hence, payments were made to them through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) which would mean 3934 did not receive their incentives. Under this, he also questioned the Chief Minister on where the portion of the money was, as the figures did not add up and enquired as to when the remaining 3934 AWHs would receive their incentives.

Replying to the supplementary question, G. Kaito Aye, Minister in charge PWD (R&B), agreed that the incentives are not fully implemented as desired in 2022 as amount sanction. The Department received Rs 11,01,80,000 crore for implementation of Poshan Abhigyan in Nagaland, however, no specific amount had been earmarked for incentive for Anganwadi helpers or workers. However, Rs 25,000 was paid as incentives during financial year 2022-23 through direct beneficiaries transfer after outer generation and another Rs 13,527 to 27 eligible AWWs and Rs 11,500 to 26 eligible AWHs.

He stated that the reason for low eligible beneficiaries during 2022-23 was due to the Poshan Tracker App that was launched during the last quarter of financial year 2021. He added that the App was not fully functional because of technical issues but they purely followed the guidelines issued by the Ministry so the process was slow but assured that the department is doing their best to make further improvements.

Download Nagaland Tribune app on Google Play

MLA Neinu also stressed that the house should guarantee that the AWWs and AWHs receive their incentives. In response, CM Neiphiu Rio stated that the system for identifying low eligibility beneficiaries during 2022-23, was launched in the last quarter of the year and was not functional because of technical issue. He acknowledged the issue and stated that sufficient training was not provided in capacity building and field training programs for field functionaries. Therefore, the AWWs were not provided the incentives due to delay in release of fund as it was sanctioned only at the end of April.

He further said that in the financial year 2021-22, no sanction was released again by the Union Ministry so the Department also struggled due to the frequent modification and issues related to the App. However, he stated that the staff are being trained and things are gradually improving till date and those beneficiaries who qualified will definitely be given what is due to them. Rio also highlighted that incentives are based on performance however, he ensured to direct the Department on transparency and clarity.