“The Anganwadi workers should be a lady from the local village and acceptable in the local community. Special care should be taken in her selection so that the children of Scheduled Caste and other weaker sections of the society are ensured free access to Anganwadi.
The AWWs in the selected project areas may be selected by a committee consisting of the District Social Welfare Officer, the BDO, the CDPO, the Medical Officer of the Primary health centre, the President of the Taluka Panchayat / Block Advisory Committee, the district representative of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board and any other non-officials which the State Government may consider appropriate”.
The States/UTs were also suggested not to include the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Selection Committee.
Under recently approved Restructured ICDS Scheme, minimum qualification for selection of Anganwadi Workers has been fixed as Matriculation and the age as 18-35 years.
The guidelines issued by the Union Government to the States/UTs for appointment of Anganwadi Workers have by and large been implemented by all the States/UTs.
However, the State Government of West Bengal has included Member of Legislative Assembly in the Selection Committee for appointment of Anganwadi Workers.
The State Government has been requested to take the corrective measures in this regard.
This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
