Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath alleged on Monday in Lucknow that liquor mafia controlled nutrition distribution during the Samajwadi Party regime before 2017. He said malnourished children and mothers were deprived of their rights. The current government has eliminated the mafia and implemented a transparent system.
At a programme in Lucknow for inaugurating and laying foundation stones of anganwadi projects, Yogi Adityanath said, "Before 2017, north India’s largest liquor mafia handled nutrition distribution through contracts given by the then government." He alleged the mafia had infiltrated the Women and Child Development Department, controlling ration distribution with poor quality or none reaching beneficiaries.
The Chief Minister stated that 35 lakh children now receive protein-rich, calorie-balanced hot nutritious meals daily. A target is set to appoint over 5,000 anganwadi workers and nearly 60,000 helpers this year. Anganwadi workers and helpers benefit from PMJJBY, PMSBY, and Ayushman Bharat providing up to Rs 5 lakh health insurance annually to over 3 lakh individuals.
Smartphones will enable real-time data upload, improving rankings, he added. Under the National Education Policy, pre-primary education for 3-5 year olds will be at anganwadis. The Sambhav campaign screened 1.70 crore children, recovering 80% of 1.5 lakh malnourished ones, with stunting dropping from 48% to 37%.
At the event, Rs 3,350 crore in scholarships reached 27,99,982 students' accounts. Rs 100 crore assistance went to 33,334 families under the National Family Benefit Scheme. Adityanath targeted the Samajwadi Party, calling it "parivarwadi" for depriving the poor.
