“Anganwadi Recruitment in Kokernag Raises Concerns: CDPO Breng Accused of Violating Norms, Selecting Candidate Not Enlisted in Ward Voter List, RTI Reveals”

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag 03 August: In a gross violation of government guidelines, the CDPO Kokernag Breng, located in Anantnag district, has been accused of selecting a candidate for the Anganwadi worker post without adhering to the prescribed eligibility criteria.

Reliable sources have informed Arising State that the CDPO Breng has included a candidate in the tentative selection list who is not enlisted in the ward voter list.

Arising State received an RTI copy filed by an applicant with Wide No CDPO/breng/2023-24/1312 dated 28 06 2023, revealing that the candidate neither enlisted in the voter list of the Ward nor submitted a ward certificate. Instead, the candidate provided a ward certificate of her husband for the worker post, as revealed by the RTI.

An applicant filed a complaint in the ADDC office against the tentative selection list of Breng Kokernag, prompting the ADDC to serve a letter to the District Programming Officer Anantnag (DPO) to seek information regarding the complaint and allegations of the tentative selection list of Breng.

The administration of Jammu and Kashmir had advertised the recruitment of Sanginis (Anganwadi Workers) and Sahayikas (Anganwadi Helpers) for Anganwadi centers across the union territory.

As per the order issued by the social welfare department under the Government Order No. 222-JK(SWD) of 2022, the recruitment process will strictly follow the procedure laid out in the new Human Resource policy.

The eligibility criteria for the selection of Sanginis require that women candidates in the age group of 18-37 years should be considered for the post. The candidates should be domiciles of the UT of JK and residents of the Electoral Ward where the Anganwadi centre is located. The minimum qualification for Anganwadi workers should be 10+2 and a maximum of graduation. The selection will be done purely on a merit basis based on the marks obtained in 10+2.

Last month, Arising State covered a similar news story regarding the complaint against the CDPO Achabal, where an official selected a candidate in the tentative list based on an election card. After the news story by Arising State, the officials canceled the candidate’s form.

Meanwhile, talking to Arising State, the CDPO Breng refutes the allegations and stated that the tentative selection list was issued on a merit basis. However, after receiving an objection from a candidate in Hiller Breng, they kept the selection list withheld. The CDPO mentioned that the woman has recently married and submitted a Nikah Nama with the form, and they are currently verifying the facts.