India News | District Child Protection Units Should Work with Delhi Revenue Dept to Aid Covid Orphans: Gautam

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) Women and Child Development Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Thursday said district child protection units (DCPU) should work closely with the revenue department to provide financial aid to children who lost their parents to COVID-19.

The DCPUs have been looking into the safety, security and wellbeing of children impacted during the pandemic.

Chairing a meeting with the Delhi State Child Protection Society governing body he asked it to work closely with the revenue department to streamline the process of providing financial aid to children orphaned due to the pandemic under the 'Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Pariwar Arthik Sahayata Yojana'.

Over 2,000 children in the city have lost either one or both their parents to COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. Sixty-seven children have lost both their parents, said a survey done by the Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).

According to the survey, 651 children lost their mothers and 1,311 children lost their fathers to the infection. The Delhi government has planned to give a compensation of Rs 2,500 per month to such children.

In the meeting, Madhu K Garg, secretary and Dr Rashmi Singh, director of Women and Child Development presented the progress of work done through the child protection units set up at the state and district levels.

The minister recommended the governing body introduce an appreciation system for recognising officers for their performance during the pandemic.

"The proactive role of the Delhi Child Protection teams to reach out to children who need our support is much appreciated. Such officers need to be rewarded for their hard work," he said.

Officials of the Department of Women and Child Development also apprised the minister of a new initiative called 'Paalan' which would encourage CSR partners to contribute towards sponsoring the need of children in vulnerable conditions especially those affected by the pandemic.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)