Haryana Irrigation and Women & Child Development Minister Shruti Choudhry on Friday conducted surprise inspections at Anganwadi centres, crèches, childcare institutions and Shishu Niketan centres in Panchkula to review the facilities and arrangements being provided to children.
During the inspection, she interacted with children and gathered information regarding nutrition, healthcare, safety, hygiene, and overall care arrangements at the centres.
During the inspection, negligence was found at several levels, following which the minister strongly reprimand the officials concerned. She observed that even senior women officers at the headquarters level were not conducting regular inspections, while the monitoring mechanism at the field level was also found to be unsatisfactory.
Shruti directed officials to ensure that no compromise is made regarding children’s nutrition, health, safety and hygiene. She warned that strict administrative action would be taken against officers and employees found negligent in matters related to childcare and welfare.
She instructed officials to conduct regular inspections, improve facilities at the centres, and accord top priority to childcare and welfare services.
During the inspection, she also ordered that explanations be sought from the Child Development Project Officer and Supervisor concerned over the negligence detected during the inspection.
