SHILLONG, OCT 31: Adviser to the Social Welfare Department Paul Lyngdoh has announced that the state government has decided to cover all uncovered villages with Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) by March 2026.
The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on October 29, where various initiatives and programmes of the Social Welfare Department were discussed.
“In this meeting, a major decision taken was that all villages known as uncovered villages in the sense we do not have anganwadi centres will be covered now.
We have roughly about 1700 such villages. As of date there are 6000 plus AWCs and the remaining 1700 will be covered within March 2026 meaning that the entire state will now come under coverage by anganwadi centres,” Lyngdoh told reporters on Friday.
He also announced that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned Rs 20 crore per year to support the enhanced Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP).
“The Supplementary Nutrition Programme of the government of Meghalaya will be further enhanced with addition of fresh items that have not formed part of the diet that is prescribed and distributed through the anganwadi centres. In this regard, we are happy to announce that the Asian Development Bank has already come forward to support the state government with a sanction amount of Rs 20 crore per year for this enhanced SNP which includes both the hot cooked meal (HCM) and take home rations (THRs),” Lyngdoh said while adding that the state government will supplement any funding gaps.
The AWCs will provide hot meals twice a day and two eggs per week for children aged 3-6 years.
The adviser also announced the government’s plan to upgrade 2000 AWCs with solar panels and communitize them, shifting ownership from the government to the community.
“Our attention has also been drawn to the fact that quite a few of the centres do not have electricity and in order to meet this gap in our supply to the centres, 2000 centres will be upgraded by the end of this year and these centres will be communitized meaning that the focus will now shift from government ownership of the centres to community ownership and solar panels will be provided to these centres
The centres will integrate learning activities, recreation, and other programmes,” he said while announcing that a pilot project covering 200 locations will be launched.
To strengthen Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Lyngdoh said the government will create a post for a lady supervisor, known as an assistant to Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs).
The Chief Minister will undertake quarterly review visits to the centres and track outcomes.
“The chief minister has also stressed on micro level detailing and outcome tracking of the various initiatives and he would undertake quarterly review visits to the centres. We have come up with a detailed action plan which will cover the activities I had mentioned to you,” he said.
The government has cleared the appointment of a nutritionist who will collect samples and report to the department, Lyngdoh added.
By Our Reporter
