Congress questions anganwadi scheme

Congress on Tuesday raised the issue of the bid document being drafted to supply extruded food to anganwadis in such a way that only three major players would be benefited instead of women’s bachat gats in both houses of state legislature.

Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, even demanded that the procedure be cancelled whereas senior Congress member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), Chandrakant Raghuvanshi demanded removal of specific conditions to ensure that women’s self-help groups got the contract.

The Asian Age had revealed how a Rs 9,000-crore bid to supply energy-dense micronutrient fortified extruded blended sukhadi, sheera, sevai and upma to anganwadis would be helpful to big suppliers and how terms and conditions would keep away mahila bachat gats from getting the contract.

Mr Vikhe-Patil said that the women and child development department had ignored the Supreme Court’s instructions to decentralise supply of Take Home Ration food (THR) work among women’s self-help groups.

“Pankaja Munde, minister for child and welfare department, has taken the apex court’s suggestion in a wrong way and drafted bid document to favour three suppliers i.e. Mahalaxmi Mahila Gruhaudyog Balvikas Bahuuddeshiy Audyogik Sahakarai Sanstha (Nanded), Maharashtra Mahila Sahakari Gruhaudyog Sanstha (Dhule) and Venkateshwar Mahila Udyog Sahakari Sanstha (Udgir, Latur),” he said.

He added that according to the state governnment’s order, small women’s self-help groups installed costly machinery by raising loans from banks.

The tender work was given for a period of three years, but the order was stopped after one year. He further said that now, the government was trying to keep aside these small groups from competition.