Days after the Centre announced a number of welfare measures for children who lost their parents to Covid-19, the state Cabinet on Wednesday approved a financial assistance scheme.
The government will take custody of the children who lost their parents during the coronavirus pandemic and keep a fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh in the name of such children. The child will get the deposit amount with interest after completion of 21 years of age.
CM Uddhav Thackeray last week had made an announcement in this regard.
Minister of Women and Child Welfare Yashomati Thakur said the children from the age group of 0-18 years will be entitled to benefit from the scheme whose parents died due to Covid-19 infection after March 1, 2020. It will cover children who lost one of their parents due to a pandemic and another due to some other reason.
Further, children from the same age group, whose one of the parents died before March 1, 2020 and another lost due to Covid, will also be covered under the scheme. The term deposit will be in the joint bank account of the child and the District Women and Child Development Officer who will be responsible for providing benefits to orphans.
Thakur said if the child without any relatives will be admitted in the child care centre. In case if the relatives are prepared to take care of an orphan then they will get monthly assistance from the department of women and child welfare’s child care scheme. The government will provide assistance to single parents through childcare schemes.
“The financial assistance scheme aims to provide a family environment and holistic development to such orphans. A district level task force has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Collector. The task force has to collect information about children who have been orphaned after the loss of their parents by Covid, provide maximum protection to children and ensure that such children do not fall victim to child labour, immoral human trafficking, human trafficking, and ensure that children's financial and property rights remain intact,’’ said Thakur.
A similar scheme is being implemented through the PM Care Scheme of the Central government. However, Thakur clarified that the proposed state government scheme is in addition to the Central scheme.
The District Women and Child Development Officer will be responsible for providing benefits to the orphans by submitting the documents of the children who want to avail the benefits of the scheme and those who have been orphaned due to Covid infection. Detailed information about the terms and conditions of the scheme will also be made available in the ruling.
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