Question : Fake Anganwadi Beneficiaries

(a) whether there are around 14 lakh fake Anganwadi Kendras across the country with 10 crore registered beneficiaries and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the said beneficiaries include children under the age of six, pregnant women and lactating mothers;
(c) whether the Government has requested States to verify/update and revise the list of children and other beneficiaries coming to each Anganwadi Centres and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the identification and elimination of fake beneficiaries registered in various anganwadis across the country is an ongoing process and one crore fake beneficiaries have been identified so far and if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether the names of the above beneficiaries were deleted from the beneficiaries list of Anganwadi Kendras across the country and if so, the details thereof along with the objective behind such deletion; and
(f) whether many lapses have been found in the food distribution system of Anganwadi Kendra, if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

(a) & (b): Under the Anganwadi Services of Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme, a total number of 14 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) have been sanctioned to all the States/UTs, out of which as on 01.06.2018, 13.63 lakh AWCs are functioning across the country in which a total number of 8.85 crore beneficiaries are availing benefits. There are no fake AWCs. Children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers are eligible beneficiaries under the scheme.

(c), (d) & (e): This Ministry has issued directions to all States/UTs to conduct physical verification exercise to identify genuine beneficiaries and weed out duplicate as well as bogus beneficiaries, if any.

(f): The Anganwadi Services under Umbrella ICDS Scheme is implemented by States/UTs, the proper administration of the scheme is their prime responsibility. In case of any lapse found in the proper functioning of the Scheme/food distribution system, the concerned States Governments/UT Administrations are requested to take corrective measures.