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Regular-article-logo Monday, 07 July 2025

Ministers have no time for kids

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MONOBINA GUPTA Published 21.11.06, 12:00 AM

New Delhi, Nov. 21: A meeting was held in the capital today to draw the attention of policy-makers to the dismal plight of children — only, no political big gun had the time to listen.

Renuka Chowdhury, the Union minister for women and children, and Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi chief minister, were among the leaders whom the organisers tried to invite.

Organised by economist Jean Dreze and social activists, the conclave came at the end of a long campaign directed to focus the Centre’s and the states’ attention on the poor social indicators that are killing children.

The statistics are alarming: over 65 children under the age of one die for every 1,000 who do not; the number goes up to 83 by the time they reach the age of five. Malnourishment kills 42 per cent children in the 6-14 age group. The sex ratio of children under 6 years is 865:1000.

India has 14 crore children below the age of six.

“We wanted the Delhi chief minister to come. But her secretary said she does not have the time,” said Prem Bahukhandi, a social activist.

Renuka could not even be reached.

The organisers tried to get Yoganand Shastri, Delhi’s health and social welfare minister, but he was away.

Then, they invited Motia Garg, the secretary of the social welfare board. “The secretary last evening agreed to come but backed out this morning,” Bahukhandi said.

Children from Delhi and the neighbourhood turned up for the meeting, as did activists and several experts.

The organisers want to get heard before the Planning Commission finalises its 11th five-year plan. “We are going to collect one lakh signatures demanding more funds for the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) — a crucial programme for pregnant women and children,” Bahukhandi said. The ICDS director was present at the meeting.

The organisers are hoping to submit petitions on behalf of the children to the Prime Minister and the deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on December 19.

A National Commission for Children has been set up, but activists say neither the Centre nor the states are serious about the issue.

Anganwadi workers — the agents who implement ICDS at the grassroots — are paid Rs 1,500 a month. “How can anyone survive on this salary?” Bahukhandi asked.

Dreze, who earlier this year quit the National Advisory Council, holds that public intervention is needed to change the status of children, and has pointed to startling discrepancies between Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

In Uttar Pradesh, anganwadi centres are mostly closed. Even when they are open, the children do not get food or vaccination. But in Tamil Nadu, these centres provide nutritious food and 90 per cent children are vaccinated.

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