Haryana to appoint women sarpanches as brand ambassadors of their villages

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced on Thursday that all women sarpanches in the state will be appointed as brand ambassadors of their respective villages under the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign.

The initiative aims to ensure their active participation in the campaign, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat.

He said that the steps taken by the state government under the campaign to improve the sex ratio are being widely appreciated across the country.

Saini made the announcement while presiding over the review meeting of the Women and Child Development Department here.

Expressing concern over the use of handheld USG machines for sex determination, Saini directed the preparation of an effective strategy to track those involved in this illegal practice.

Women and Child Development Department Minister, Smt Shruti Choudhry was also present in the meeting.

Additionally, the Chief Minister said that 10,000 Anganwadi Centres in the state will be developed as Saksham Anganwadi Centres in the next five years. A grant of Rs 563 lakh has been received from the Centre for this.

Meanwhile, expressing satisfaction over the improvement in nutrition indicators in Haryana, the Chief Minister directed the department to launch a special campaign to identify children aged 0 to 5 years in the state suffering from stunting (low height-for-age) and make Haryana a stunting-free state by improving the nutritional levels of these children.