PNS | DEHRADUN
The Women Empowerment and Child Development (WECD) minister Rekha Arya has instructed the officials concerned to appoint 374 Anganwadi workers and 6,185 assistants to fill vacant positions across the State. She issued this directive during a meeting with WECD department officials held on Thursday.
Arya stated that Anganwadi centres have been upgraded in nearly all the districts, which has resulted in many assistants’ positions becoming vacant as many assistants transitioned into Anganwadi workers. Currently, there are a total of 6,185 vacant assistants’ positions and 374 vacant Anganwadi worker positions in all the districts. She added that in a recent cabinet meeting, the Anganwadi recruitment rules were amended and a government order was issued to facilitate the recruitment to these posts. Regarding this, the department has been instructed to issue a notification within the next one or two days. Online applications will be invited for these posts and female candidates will have approximately 30 days to apply. The department officials have been directed to expedite the recruitment process, she said.
Additionally, Arya emphasised the need for all Anganwadi centres to meet new standards, ensuring the mandatory availability of piped water, drinking water, electricity and toilets. She instructed the district programme officers of all 13 districts to submit proposals related to providing these facilities in all centres within five days.
Arya also reviewed the applications received so far under the Nanda Gaura scheme, instructing all districts to maximise applications by December 31 and to increase the number of beneficiaries compared to last year. She has tasked officials with personally contacting all applicants whose applications were returned due to deficiencies and ensuring those applications are resubmitted promptly.
Arya further commented on the Mahila Sarathi project initiated by the Transport department. She said the pilot phase of this ambitious initiative will soon commence in Dehradun district. The project will prioritise women who are financially disadvantaged, widows, or those who have been abandoned.
The vehicles will be equipped with various safety features designed for women drivers. Regular GPS tracking will be implemented to ensure that, in case of any security-related incidents, female drivers or passengers can receive immediate assistance. Both the police and transport departments will be involved in this initiative. Additionally, women have already received driving training in Dehradun as part of this project, she said.
