Image Courtesy:mid-day.com
Following reports of Covid-19’s impact on children, the Maharashtra government on June 2, 2021 announced fixed deposits of Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 1,125 monthly allowance for children who lost at least one parent to the Coronavirus.
According to the Daily Hunt, the decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The scheme provides financial aid for any individual below 18 years of age, who lost one or both parents following the Covid-19 outbreak after March 1, 2020.
Orphans will get the Fixed Deposit (FD) amount with interest after reaching 21 years, but semi-orphans (children who have one surviving parent) are not eligible for the scheme. The latter will only receive monthly financial assistance. An official told the Economic Times that the government is trying to raise the monthly allowance to Rs. 2,500.
While a similar scheme is being implemented through the PMCARES scheme, the Maharashtra government will also run this scheme in tandem. As per government estimates, there are around 160 orphans and approximately 5,000 semi-orphans following the pandemic. In Mumbai’s suburbia, there are 444 cases of semi-orphans and 7 cases of orphaned children.
In case a family is unwilling to look after a child, the government has promised to take responsibility of the minor. On the other hand, relatives who look after the child will receive a grant from the Child Care Scheme of the Department of Women and Child Development. The term deposit will be in the joint bank account of the child and the District Women and Child Development Officer.
This is the first time that the government has announced a concrete scheme for Covid-orphans, as per records of NGO Save The Children that kept a record of all state government schemes for children across India.
Nonetheless, the government had organised a 10-member task force in each of 36 districts to identify and arrange for Covid-affected children. Earlier, Ahmednagar reported at least 9,000 children as Covid-positive in the month of May although 95 percent of them were asymptomatic. The task force already held a meeting earlier in the week to discuss the situation and prepare for the third wave of Covid-19.
Similarly, the Maharashtra administration will set up a helpline number to seek information about orphaned children in light of information that anti-social elements were encouraging illegal adoption of such children on social media. The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development also announced its CHILDLINE number that entertains calls from both children and adults. The number is 1098.
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