Ahmedabad's Anganwadi Plan Faces Questions Over Shift From Closed Schools to New Plots

Amdavad Municipal Corporation's plan to reduce the cost of running Anganwadis in rented premises has come under scrutiny after the civic body began looking for vacant plots to build new centres, despite an earlier decision to use 93 closed municipal school buildings. In November 2025, the corporation had approved a proposal to start Anganwadis in 93 closed school buildings, with in-principle approval granted for 39 of them. The move was aimed at shifting Anganwadis from rented premises to civic-owned properties and reducing the corporation's annual rental burden. The fresh exercise to identify vacant plots has now raised questions over why the earlier plan has not been taken forward as originally proposed. Ahmedabad has a total of 2,128 Anganwadis, of which 1,295 are operating from rented premises. The corporation pays crores of rupees in rent every year for these centres. Using vacant or underused civic buildings was proposed as a way to cut this recurring expenditure. During the previous term, former standing committee chairman Devang Dani had also suggested that some closed municipal school buildings could be converted into Anganwadis after carrying out minor repairs. The November 2025 decision followed the same approach, with 93 closed school buildings identified for the purpose. After a meeting of the Women and Child Development Committee on Monday, chairman Dimple Varindani said information about vacant corporation-owned plots had been sought. The plan is to identify suitable plots and construct Anganwadi centres there in the future. The latest move has created a mismatch with the corporation's earlier decision. While 93 closed school buildings had already been earmarked and 39 had received in-principle approval, the civic body is now examining an entirely different option. The change in direction has raised questions about coordination between different civic authorities and committees. If the closed school buildings can be converted into Anganwadis with limited repairs, shifting the focus to new plots could mean additional planning, construction and expenditure. At the same time, the earlier decision could remain underutilised despite being taken specifically to reduce the corporation's rental costs. The corporation's next steps will determine whether the 93 closed school buildings remain part of the Anganwadi expansion plan or whether the civic body moves ahead with new construction on vacant plots.