The Himachal Pradesh Sukhashraya Act, 2023

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What does the bill say?

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 government has formed a Mukhya Mantri Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh (fund) of Rs 101 crore to which all MLAs have contributed Rs 1 lakh.  

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.
• 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.

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