'Plan delay on Anganwadis defies SC order'

Finance Minister P Chidambaram's Budget 2007-08 allegedly amounts to contempt of court for disregarding the Supreme Court requirement to universalise anganwadis by December 2008.

The court judgement came on December 13, 2006.

The minister, in his speech, said the universalisation of the Anganwadis, under the Integrated Child Development Services, will be completed during the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

This is in contrast with the legal requirement to universalise anganwadis by December 2008, says Biraj Patnaik, principal advisor to the Supreme Court commissioners on right-to-food.

"It can amount to contempt of court," he added.

Patnaik said the Anganwadis were allocated an additional Rs 700 crore only, to the existing allocation of Rs 4,087 crore. The budgetary allocation would have to be doubled to meet the commitments made to the Supreme Court, which required creation of 14 lakh Anganwadis by December 2008.

Patnaik said minimum Rs 2 lakh is required to set up every new Anganwadi.