Observing that infrastructure available at the anganwadis in the State was far from being satisfactory, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday set December 31 as the deadline for the government to provide electricity, fans and toilets to 14,948, 18,974, and 3,524 anganwadi centres, respectively.
The court issued the directions while refusing to accept the government’s proposal to provide these facilities in a phased manner. There are a total of 65,911 anganwadi centres in the State, as per the data submitted to the court by the government.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice issued the directions during the hearing of a PIL petition, initiated in 2011 based on a letter written by B.L. Patil of Vimochana Sangha, a Belagavi-based NGO through which the court is monitoring steps taken for children suffering from malnutrition.
However, the Bench granted time till June 30, 2022, for the government to provide toilets in the remaining anganwadi centres housed in buildings not owned by the government. Providing basic infrastructure to anganwadi centres is a constitutional and statutory obligation of the government, the Bench observed.
It also directed the government to take steps to implement the interim recommendations of a committee, headed by retired judge A.N. Venugopala Gowda, set up to oversee the process of identification, medical exam, and treatment of malnourished children, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls in the State.
