Chennai: Children aged between one and two, who were hitherto provided with one egg a week under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in the State, were being served three eggs a week from November as part of the various measures by the government to ensure nutrition for all, Chief Minister M K Stalin said.
Addressing the second State-level review meeting of DISHA (District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees) at the Secretariat on Monday, Stalin said that orders had been issued for the supply of fortified biscuits to all malnourished children across the State.
Urging the members of DISHA to aim at achieving inclusive growth in rural and urban development that ensured social justice and equality, he said his government wanted development to be determined by using standard of living and people’s happiness as yard sticks and not through economic indicators.
In its pursuit for inclusive growth and to ensure that the fruits of development reached beneficiaries at the lowest rung, the government was proceeding in the predetermined path without any deviations from his set goals, he said.
Laying emphasis on rural development, he said that all those who were taking part in the review of the schemes should bear in mind that the meeting was being held with a view to giving special attention to livelihood issues and infrastructural facilities.
While DISHA meetings, chaired by the Chief Minister, review the 14 schemes implemented through 15 departments with the contribution of the Union Government in general, on Monday the progress of five schemes were taken up for consideration.
Work taken up under the MP Area Development Scheme, in which every MP gets Rs 5 crore a year to take up projects in their constituency, the National Health Mission, ICDS, Implementation of National Food Protection Act and the Prime Minister’s Model Village were reviewed at the meeting.
As far as the ICDS went, nutritious food was being served to 27,00,774 children through 54,439 anganwadis, besides 7,55,673 pregnant and lactating mothers, he said, adding that the National Food Security Act was being implemented through the public distribution system, he said.
Since free rice and wheat were being supplied to the poor, the objective of reaching a ‘no hunger’ situation in the State had been achieved and the standards of the PDS was also being improved with a view to serving the beneficiaries in a better way, he said.
The Chief Ministers called upon the authorities to complete the projects taken up under the various schemes on time and take the State to the Number one position in the nation in the implementation of the development projects.
