Minister Dr Baljit Kaur Disburses Financial assistance to 1704 children under the Sponsorship and Foster Care Scheme

Rolls out Direct Benefit Transfer of the Scheme

7000 Eligible Children of the age 0-18 to be covered by March 31, 2025

Each eligible Beneficiary to get an assistance of Rs 4000 per month

Presides Over State Level Event on Sponsorship and Foster Care Scheme Benefits at Mohali

Rs 7.91 crores released to all District Child Protection Units under the Sponsorship Scheme during the current fiscal

Released Rs 37.75 lakh to Non-Government Child Care Institutions

Grant of Rs 26.72 lakh issued to Non-Government Adoption Agencies

Chandigarh/SAS Nagar, 08 August:

Punjab Minister for Social Security, Women and Child Development, Dr Baljit Kaur said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government is continuously making sincere efforts for the welfare of economically weaker sections and helpless children. Marching ahead with the same objective, about three

thousand applications have been received by the Punjab government under the Sponsorship and Foster Care Scheme and Rs 7.91 crore have been released during the current fiscal to 1704 children as financial assistance by the state.

She was here to preside over the state-level function organized at NIPER, Sector 67, held today regarding the distribution of financial benefits under the Sponsorship and Foster Care Scheme.

Rolling out the UDID (Adhar) based Direct Benefit Transfer of assistance from today onwards, she also handed over the approval letters of assistance to the new beneficiaries of the scheme. Sri Muktsar Sahib district has topped in registering maximum beneficiaries while Fatehgarh Sahib district remained second.

Dr Baljit Kaur while addressing the beneficiaries said that continuous efforts are being made by the department for child rights and protection. She said that the main objective of Mission Vatsalya Scheme is to implement the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and to ensure proper care, protection, development, treatment and social rehabilitation of children living in difficult conditions and children besides looking after the interests of the Children by adopting an appropriate approach.

The Cabinet Minister said that the sponsorship scheme is an aid provided to the children of families belonging to economically weaker sections to enable the child to remain in a family and continue his/her education. Under this scheme, children are given Rs 4000 per month till the age of 18 years. Today, 1704 children are being disbursed with financial benefits under the sponsorship scheme by the state government. During the current financial year 2024-25, Rs 7.91 crore has been released by the Punjab government under the sponsorship scheme. We have a target of bringing Seven thousand children Inder the ambit of the scheme by 31 March 2025, she added.

The cabinet minister said that the Punjab Prevention of Beggary Act 1971 will also need an amendment to make parents responsible for forcing begging their children. Apart from this, a helpline number 1098 has been operationalised by the government where anyone who finds any helpless, child or begging child can report it. Immediate action will be taken on receipt of information. For the smooth functioning of this helpline, 250 more new posts have been created, which will be filled soon.

Dr Baljit Kaur further said that on the second week of every month, district-level child protection committees survey to save children from child labour and begging. These surveys have rescued one hundred children so far and the children rescued by district-level committees are followed up for 03 months. The teachers will be trained to take special care of such children and the parents of the children will also be educated and sensitised. Children arriving in orphanages will also be made skilled, she added.

The Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister said that under the sponsorship and foster care scheme, District Child Protection Unit Amritsar has been given financial assistance to the tune of Rs 25 lakh, Barnala Rs 14 lakh, Bathinda Rs 45.84 lakh, Faridkot Rs 46.44 lakh, Fazilka Rs 30.60 lakh, Fatehgarh Sahib Rs 51.08 lakh, Ferozepur Rs 25.56 lakh, Gurdaspur Rs 14.88 lakh, Hoshiarpur Rs 48.16 lakh, Jalandhar Rs 23.04 lakh, Ludhiana Rs 35.76 lakh, Kapurthala are 21.84 lakh, Mansa Rs 50.64 lakh, Moha Ra 33.52 lakh, Sri Muktsar Sahib Rs 97.84, Patiala Rs 37.76 lakh, Ropar Rs 54.52 lakh, SAS Nagar Rs 4.36 lakh, Sangrur Rs 18.12 lakh, SBS Nagar Rs 49.88 lakh, Tarn Taran Rs 35.04 lakh, Pathankot Rs 22.40 lakhs and Rs.4.88 lakhs have been released to Malerkotla.

On this occasion, under the Mission Vatsalya scheme, a grant of Rs 37.75 lakh was released to Non-Government Child Care Institutions and Rs 26.72 Lakh to Non-Government Adoption Agencies.

Dr Baljit Kaur said that under the scheme, families whose annual income is up to Rs 96000 in urban areas and Rs 72000 in rural areas are eligible to benefit. For Children from economically weak families who want to take advantage of this scheme, information about the scheme, eligibility, etc. can be obtained from the District Child Protection Unit or Child Welfare Committee of the concerned district and submit their application as per eligibility.

She said that the purpose of this event was to educate the poor and economically weak children of the state by saving them from child labour.

Dr Baljit Kaur said that childhood is the most important time for a person and lays the foundation of life. During this period, children deprived of their families feel more suffering and sometimes the children are tempted towards bad ways. It is imperative to give the right environment to the children, if the children are still begging on the streets, working and dropping out of school, then there is still a lot to be done. The aim is that every child should go to school and lead his life, she further added.

The cabinet minister also appealed that the future of a child must be shaped under the adoption programme. With this, no child will be deprived of education. She said that 300 children have been adopted under the adoption programme in the last 05 years. She marked the importance of books and urged children to connect with books as much as possible. She said that a special survey will also be conducted to ensure the good upbringing of children of single and destitute mothers.

Beneficiaries of this scheme, Sania, a student and resident of Sirhind Mandi, district Fatehgarh, said that her father died 13 years ago and her mother is no longer with her. Her grandparents are very old. With this scheme, her book and fee expenses have started running, for which she is grateful to the Punjab government.

Similarly, the grandmother of Prabhjot Singh and maternal grandmother of Kaur, Harbhajan Kaur said that the fathers of these two children got away from them due to various reasons but this scheme has become a big support for these children.

On this occasion, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Mrs Sonam Chaudhary, Deputy Director Amarjit Singh Bhullar, District Program Officer Fatehgarh Sahib Gurmeet Singh, District Program Officer SAS Nagar Gagandeep Singh, representatives of non-governmental childcare organizations working for the welfare of children across Punjab, children’s homes and special agencies participated in this event.

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