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Bhubaneswar, June 2: The state government Wednesday announced a new welfare scheme, styled ‘Biju Bal Bikash Yojana (BBBY)’ with a view to reaching out to the thousands of orphans and destitute children in the state.
A decision on this was taken by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who chaired a review meeting of the Women and Child Development (W&CD) Department at the Secretariat here. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had promised in its 2014 election manifesto to roll out the BBBY scheme in the state for the rehabilitation of all orphans and destitute children.
Chairing the meeting, Patnaik asked the WCD department to prepare a detailed blueprint for implementation of the scheme. It was decided that the newly created department for differently-abled persons will be made functional from July 1.
The chief minister directed officials to pay special attention to the development of mentally-retarded and autistic children. He asked them to coordinate their efforts with the organisations that are working in this field.
Emphasising on the importance of education in the life of differently-abled children, he said a separate school for these children will be opened in each district. For the overall development of women and children, the Chief Minister asked officials to work towards restructuring the Integrated Child Development Services scheme. It was decided at the meeting that the government would construct 8,000 houses every year under a five-year plan for the existing Anganwadi Centre. Special emphasis will be given on sanitation in those centres.
As promised by the ruling party in its manifesto, the BJD government also decided to include all unmarried and destitute women above 30 years under the Madhu babu pension scheme.
While the state government will prepare a database of all the beneficiaries of different pension schemes, third party audit of Mamata, ICDS and Pension scheme will be conducted in the state. WCD secretary Saswat Mishra, who attended the meeting, said a decision has also been taken to facilitate elderly people, who are getting pension as part of social security, to receive it at their panchayats instead of them going to a bank.