Maha govt hikes monthly allowance for orphans, homeless children

Mumbai, Mar 16 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has hiked the monthly allowance for orphans and homeless children in the state to Rs 2,500 each from the child welfare scheme, state Minister Yashomati Thakur told the legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

During the Question Hour in the Lower House, the state women and child development minister said the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been conducting a survey of orphans and homeless children in the state since November 2021.

As per the ongoing survey, as of now 5,153 children are living on the streets with their families, 1,266 are on the streets but live in slums and 39 are orphans, Thakur said.

Street children are being kept in day-care centres for their daily needs, she said.

The state government has increased the monthly allowance for orphans and homeless children from the child welfare scheme from Rs 425 to Rs 2,500 per child, the minister said.

When asked about the construction of anganwadis, Thakur said no permission has been for new anganwadis since 2014, and the proposals received so far have been sent to the Centre for approval.

The incomplete construction of anganwadis will be finished in a year, she added. PTI MR ARU ARU