Sorry; you see we have money for spending on ministers security, providing them with fancy laptops but not for Children's nutirtion.

14 states spend a pittance on kids

Defy SC Order, Pay Less Than Rs 2 A Day On Child’s Nutrition

Nitin Sethi | TNN

New Delhi: Orissa spends a meagre 59 paise per day on providing supplementary nutrition to each child. This is what Supreme Court-appointed commissioners in the rightto-food case have reported in their latest submission to the court. In fact, the commissioners have found that most states have been shortchanging children’s health despite the apex court’s orders that they provide supplementary nutrition worth at least Rs 2 per day per beneficiary under the Intregrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
The court’s orders had come in December 2006, when it said that of the Rs 2, the central government should contribute half, with the remaining expenditure being borne by the state government for providing supplementary nutrition at the anganwadi centres opened under ICDS catering to children and expecting women at the village level.
Of the 22 states that the commissioners investigated, 14 fell foul of the court order. Suprisingly, the N-E states have done much better than other bigger states. Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya have spent more than the amount mandated as the minimum by the apex court. Rajasthan spent a mere Rs 1.61 per beneficiary per day, UP spent Rs 1.37 and MP Rs 1.21. Gujarat was doing just as badly spending Rs 1.27 per day.
The commissioners point out that the records would seem more dismal if one compared the actual expenditure to the norms set specifically for severely malnourished children. The government is expected to spend Rs 2.7 per day on every severely malnourished child and Rs 2.30 for every pregnant woman, nursing mother or adolescent girl per day. The court commissioners, in the report submitted to the SC, have suggested three reasons for the possible lower expenditure by the states. They contend either the governments have erred in counting the actual number of beneficiaries or they are supplying poor quality of food or that there are gaps in supply and children and expecting mothers are not receiving their due food every day.
While Arunachal spent a mere 9.81% of the allocated amount, Gujarat did not spend 60% of its allocated amount and Delhi left 45% of its money unspent on the scheme. Other states fairing badly were Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

SC-appointed officials say 14 states have defied the court order on child nutrition. But N-E states have done much better than bigger states