‘Burdened’ ICDS staff seek succour

With their work not clearly defined, supervisors struggle to finish the works assigned

A couple of days ago, an Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) supervisor set out from her house in the morning to investigate if factories that employed more than 10 women had set up an internal complaints committee. En route, she visited four anganwadis to check if food was being supplied to children. By the time she was back in office, it was 2 p.m. After lunch, she had to conduct house surveys as part of the LIFE Mission project. She visited 30 houses. It was 7 p.m. when she called it a day.

This week itself, the ICDS supervisor had to arrange a one-hour health class for pregnant women, but it got extended to two. She was asked to submit a report the next day on food distributed to anganwadi beneficiaries under the ICDS project in the past two years, and the expenditure on each item of food distributed for an audit. “It is impossible to prepare such an exhaustive report within 24 hours. The time was then extended till Monday. I plan to use the weekend to complete the report.” ICDS supervisors say all reports sought from them are ‘urgent.’ Reports are sought at all times — at night or on field visits.