Shimla
Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday passed legislation to adopt neglected children and orphans who attain 18 yrs of age. The new provision would put an additional burden of Rs 272.27 on the state exchequer.
Informing about the purpose of the new bill CM Sukhwinder Sukhu said this is the first time that such an Act is being passed by any state.
The law was made from the provision of the state budget and Children coffers under which a fund of Rs 101 crore has already been created by the government. From now onward, all orphan children would be called children of the state.
The scheme would benefit 6000 orphan children. Apart from orphanages, children living at homes would also be able to take advantage of the scheme. From the age of 0 to 27, the government would be their mother and father.
The CM said that if any child wants to pursue higher education, the state government will pay his full fees, pocket money, hostel expenses, and air travel expenses on educational tours. Children would get Rs 4000 per month as pocket money to bear their daily expenses.
The government will provide Rs 10,000 for clothes and money for start-ups as well. After the age of 27, when orphans do not have land to build a house, the government would also provide three to four biswas of land. After the enactment of the Act, health, education and self-employment have become the rights of these orphans. Sukhu said opposition members have accused him of starting a scheme in his name but his name is Sukhvinder Thakur, not even Sukhu.
The bill was introduced in the state assembly by the Social Justice and Women Empowerment Minister Dr Dhani Ram Shandil on Wednesday. Stating the reason and objective of the bill, the Minister said that children are the future of the nation, and therefore it is mandatory to instill rich moral virtues in the children.
Children should be moulded from a young age properly so that they can become productive and responsible citizens of the country. Many children at attaining the age of eighteen years do not have a home or place to live and are forced to beg and to live in the streets. Many children even do not possess the resources to pursue higher education.
He said that Himachal Pradesh is committed to the welfare of its children. It intends to establish Sukhashraya to provide accommodation to children and orphans. The state also intends to make provisions for the care, protection and self-reliance of the children residing in the Sukhashrayas and this has necessitated enacting the proposed legislation. The bills also proposed to constitute Children Welfare Committee on the state and district levels.
Speaking on the bill, leader of the opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that there was no need to bring the legislation in its present form as there is a similar provision in the juvenile justice act of the centre. Thakur said that no chief minister earlier named any legislation or scheme in his name but the name of the bill suggests that the bureaucracy tried to appease the chief minister by applying butter by suggesting it be named after the incumbent Chief Minister.
Participating in the discussion on the bill, BJP member Hans Raj said that Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu should be given credit for proposing a nomenclature against the trend of the Congress always namng every scheme after Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
The House passed the legislation unanimously through a voice votes.
