ITANAGAR, Sep 30: Chief Minister Pema Khandu has urged the implementing officials to overcome all difficulties and properly implement all women and child-centric schemes in the state so that the benefits reach the targeted beneficiaries.
The CM was speaking during a meeting held here on Wednesday, wherein he reviewed important central schemes under the departments of Women & Child Development (WCD) and Social Justice, Empowerment & Tribal Affairs (SJETA) being implemented in the state.
Minister for WCD and SJETA Alo Libang was also present in the meeting along with the chief secretary and other officials.
Departmental officials headed by the secretary gave details of the three important programmes being implemented in the state, namely Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) (by the SJETA), Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana (both by the WCD).
Under the EMRS scheme, which is sponsored by the union ministry of tribal affairs, seven schools have been approved for Arunachal Pradesh till date.
While one EMRS each at Bana in East Kameng and Lumla in Tawang are functional, rest are under construction. These are located at Kampu in Kurung Kumey, Khela in Tirap, Tirbin in West Siang, Medo in Lohit and Dambuk in Lower Dibang Valley. These under-construction schools are expected to be completed by March next year.
The scheme has a target that by the year 2022, every block with more than 50 percent ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an EMRS.
These schools will be at par with the Navodaya Vidyalayas and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture, besides providing training in sports and skill development.
Officials informed that five more schools in the state are under process for approval by the ministry.
The Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyan (RPA) is a scheme launched by the Ministry of Women & Child Development in order to bring nutrition to the centre-stage of national development agenda with a mission to address malnutrition in a targeted approach.
As the scheme is being implemented through a web-based application, the government is providing smart phones
to each Anganwadi worker to be able to monitor work through application software.
Officials informed that the WCD is waiting for the ministry to provide the specifications of the smart phone to be provided so that it can procure the same through GeM portal.
Further, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a maternity benefit programme implemented by the ministry of women and child development. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth.
A sum total of Rs 5000 in three instalments (1000, 2000 and 2000) is transferred into the bank account of a woman for the first live birth. However, officials informed that as the application is web-based, internet connectivity in rural areas is posing a major concern in its successful implementation.
While acknowledging the concerns and hindrances to successful implementation of the schemes, specifically due to the ongoing pandemic, the CM urged the implementing officials to overcome all hindrances and achieve the proposed target in time-bound manner.
He also suggested dovetailing similar schemes of other departments to reach a larger population and benefit the people, especially the poor.
He also assured to take up all state-specific issues while implementing the schemes with the concerned ministries. (CM’s PR cell)
