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Shortly after the chief ministerial oath ceremony, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited an orphanage to kick off his five-year rule. Time and again the Chief Minister has emphasized the importance of looking after orphans and those without guardians. The sentiment was worked upon as a policy and the state recently passed legislation bringing children under the legal ambit of the government’s welfare.
What is the Sukh Ashray Act passed in the Budget Session?
The Himachal Pradesh Sukhashraya (Care, Protection, and Self-Reliance of Children of the State) Act, 2023 states that orphans and persons with special needs will become ‘children of the state’. The State government will provide financial and institutional benefits between the age of 18-27 years.
The Act facilitates that such children and adults will be provided with vocational training, skill development, and coaching to become active members of the mainstream of society.
While presenting the Bill, the Chief Minister stated that the orphans will not have to depend upon the largesse of other people and that the State itself will act as parent figures.
Who will be the beneficiaries of the Child Care Act?
The Act has defined orphans as those who are currently without biological parents or whose parents have been medically proven to be incapacitated of taking care. The ambit is also extended to children relinquished by guardians or parents for social, emotional, and physical factors.
The benefits of the Act will also be given to ‘children in need of care and protection’ such as those found who are without a home or working in contravention of labour laws. Children forced to beg or whose guardians have threatened, abused, or intended physical and emotional harm, will also be taken care of by the state government.
Children at risk of marriage before the legal age, impacted by a crime, or vulnerable to drug abuse will also be under the scope of the Act.
As per initial estimates, more than 6,000 such persons have been identified.
What are the benefits that the government is promising under the Act?
The beneficiaries will be given Rs 5,000 in summer and a similar amount in winter to buy clothes.
A sum of Rs 500 will be given to the children to celebrate major festivals. The orphans will be allowed to take a vacation within the state and the government will sponsor train tickets and accommodation for 10 days in a 3-star hotel. On attaining the age of majority, the government will provide them Rs 4,000 monthly allowance for daily expenses in college. In institutions like ITI and other government colleges, the hostel fees of the beneficiaries will also be taken care of.
Orphans who wish to establish their own start-ups will be given a token corpus to incentivize entrepreneurial pursuits.
The allowance will be given to Ph.D. students too and a fixed amount of money will also be given at the time of marriage. The beneficiaries will also be given three biswas of land in order to build their own homes, the CM said.
The government has formed a Mukhya Mantri Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh (fund) of Rs 101 crore to which all MLAs have contributed Rs 1 lakh. Chief Minister Sukhu took a pay cut from his salary in order to sponsor the fund.
What are other safeguards mentioned in the Act?
The state government shall make arrangements for ex-residents of child care institutions till the age of 21 years and in exceptional cases as may be prescribed up to the age of 23 years; and for orphans, by providing for their education, giving them employable skills and placement as well as providing them places for a stay in After Care Institutions, the Act states.
Recurring deposit accounts shall be opened for each child and orphan. The state government shall make contributions to these accounts as per prevalent rates. A child welfare committee will be established in each district which will look into the demands of children in need. The committee will overlook the admissions in aftercare institutions and carry out surveys to identify orphans.
How has the opposition in the state reacted to the scheme?
Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur claimed that the scheme did not have anything new and was aimed at forwarding CM’s own legacy. “There is no new provision in the scheme and it is merely a mix of the present central government schemes. Moreover, the CM has named the scheme after himself which has not been done before. There is a lack of intent on part of the government,” he said.
Chief Minister Sukhu has hailed it as a visionary scheme that looks at including the most neglected section of society. “Children are the backbone of society. Orphans often have to look up to other people for even basic needs. We want to tell them that they are loved and respected.
Bringing a law for this only establishes our commitment. The opposition may play petty politics, but we only want children to progress and no other government has taken such concrete steps,” Sukhvinder Sing Sukhu told The Indian Express.
