JAIPUR: The state government will give Rs 1 lakh to each child orphaned during Covid as immediate relief, Rs 2,500 per month till the kid turns 18 along with a financial aid of Rs 5 lakh.
Announcing this on the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour on Saturday, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the government would also provide free education to orphaned children till Class 12 in residential schools/hostel facilities.
A committee of various stakeholders would also be constituted to form a streamlined policy to rehabilitate children rescued from forced labour.
Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) chairperson Sangeeta Beniwal said, “During the discussion through webinar which was presided over by Gehlot and attended by senior officials including the chief secretary, it was found that more coordination was required between states and while children were being rescued successfully, their rehabilitation continued to be irregular.
We will constitute a committee of all the stakeholders and form a policy which will be submitted to Gehlot for further deliberation.” While child labour continues to be a major concern, experts lamented that children orphaned due to Covid need particular attention so that they can have access to food, shelter, health and education as well as the fact that they are not forced into labour.
Apart from financial aid, girls studying in colleges will get hostel facility on priority basis while boys will be given incentives.The child commission has made a list of 791 children who were orphaned during the second wave of Covid.
The state government had announced that it would look after children orphaned during the pandemic irrespective of whether their parents died due to Covid or some other ailment through Mukhyamantri Corona Bal Kalyan Yojana.
It will be separate from the aid provided by the central government.
For children of mothers widowed during Covid, an amount of Rs 1,000/month will be given for their welfare and Rs 2,000 per annum for school books and uniforms.
The widows would be given Rs 1 lakh ex gratia and Rs 1,500 per month as pension.