Attention! Aadhaar mandatory to avail ‘nutrition schemes’ in Maharashtra

Mumbai, April 14: Free nutrition schemes across Maharashtra, meant for malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women, can now be availed only if they have Aadhaar cards. The Maharashtra Women and Child Development (WCD) department made it “necessary” to start registering Aadhaar card numbers of the beneficiaries. 

The notification in Marathi stated: “If a beneficiary is found with no registered Aadhaar number or has not followed the procedure to apply for Aadhaar, and continues to avail the scheme, the Child Development Project Officer will be held responsible.”

The notification will affect over five lakh pregnant and lactating mothers, and over 61 lakh children aged less than six who are enrolled in 97,287 anganwadis.

In its notification, the WCD department has also detailed the procedure that Anganwadi workers and child development project officers should follow while registering beneficiaries. For children enrolled in anganwadis to get the nutritional supplement, their Aadhaar number and their parents’ Aadhaar numbers must be registered. In a situation in which the child has no Aadhaar, district officials have to facilitate in making one. Documents such as ration card, voter ID, and bank passbook page must be provided to create an Aadhaar card.

The Aadhaar linkage will cover a number of schemes, including the BJP’s flagship Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Aahar Yojana, started in 2015, for pregnant and lactating mothers to improve maternal health. Malnourished children registered for six meals a day for 40 days in Village Child Development Centre will also be covered. While the WCD has instructed district officials to start the Aadhaar linkage from April 1, district officials said the process is yet to take off.