The ICDS activity report presented by the District Social Welfare Department at the Kalahandi District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting has brought to light a comprehensive picture of the child nutrition, Anganwadi services, maternal health and Mission Shakti programs in the district. Despite many successes in the report, the identification of 802 severely malnourished children in the district has attracted everyone’s attention.
Currently, 14 ICDS projects, 95 supervisor sectors and 2,377 Anganwadi centers are functioning in the district. 72,527 children in the age group of 3 to 6 years have been identified and 58,125 have enrolled in Anganwadi pre-schools. On the other hand, the report gives information that 12,402 children are going to other schools.
1 lakh 51 thousand 532 beneficiaries are getting benefits under the Supplementary Nutrient Food (SNP) scheme. This includes 12,656 pregnant women, 11,543 lactating mothers, 54,806 children aged 6 months to 3 years and 72,527 children aged 3 to 6 years. 22 women are preparing self-help groups for this program and are engaged in the distribution work.
The most sensitive data of the report is the nutritional status of children. Out of 1,12,818 children aged 0 to 5 years, 1,12,772 have been weighed, which is about 99.97 percent. Out of which 1,08,342 (96.07%) are in the green zone, 3,458 (3.07%) in the yellow zone and 802 (0.71%) in the orange zone or severely malnourished, the report shows. It is mentioned that these 802 children are being referred to the NRC center.
Apart from this, 12,618 pregnant women, 11,521 lactating mothers, 36,313 children aged 0-3 years and 58,125 children aged 3-6 years were screened under the VHND programme. 3,421 have received the first installment and 3,357 have received the second installment under the Mamata Yojana.
Kalahandi is also ahead in the Mission Shakti sector. 21,606 Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the district have been associated with 2,21,453 women members. In the financial year 2025-26, 10,066 SHGs were given bank loans worth over ₹456.27 crore while 9,741 SHGs received interest subsidy worth ₹12.2 crore.
However, despite the success shown in the report, there is a general consensus that the administration needs to be more accountable for the rehabilitation of 802 severely malnourished children, basic facilities at Anganwadi centers, quality of nutritious food, and complete coverage of Mamata Yojana. These findings raised in the DISHA meeting indicate the need for further review in the coming days to assess the actual impact of the district’s child and maternal welfare programs.
