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Himachal passes a law to adopt all Orphans 

 Himachal Pradesh assembly today passed legislation to adopt neglected children and orphans who attain 18 yrs of age. The new provision would put an additional burden of Rs 272.27 Cr on the state exchequer.  

Informing about the purpose of the new bill  CM Sukhwinder Sukhu said that this is the first act of India, which has not been passed by any state so far. This law was made from the provision of the state budget and Children’s coffer tune to Rs 101 crore already created by the government. From today onward all orphan children would be called children of the state.

This scheme would benefit 6000 orphan children. Apart from orphanages, children living at homes would also be able to take advantage of the scheme. From the age of 0 to 27, the government would be their mother and father.

 The CM said that if any child wants to pursue higher education, the state government will pay his full fees, pocket money, hostel expenses, and air travel expenses on educational tours. Children would get Rs 4000 per month as pocket money to bear their daily expenses.

 The government will provide Rs 10,000 for clothes and money for start-ups as well. After the age of 27, when orphans do not have land to build a house, the government would also provide three to four biswa of land. After the enactment of the Act, health, education, and self-employment have become the rights of these orphans. Mr. Sukhu said opposition members have accused him of starting a scheme in his name but his name is Sukhvinder Thakur, not even Sukhu. 

The bill was introduced in the state assembly by the Social Justice and Women Empowerment Minister Dr. Dhani Ram Shandil in the state assembly on Wednesday. Siting the reason and objective of the bill, the Minister said that Children are the future of the nation therefore it is mandatory to instill rich moral virtues in the children.

Children should be molded from a young age properly so that they can become productive and responsible citizens of the country.  Many children attaining the age of eighteen years do not have a home or place to live and are forced to beg and live in the streets.  Many children even do not possess the resources to pursue higher education.  

He said that the State of Himachal Pradesh is committed to the welfare of its children.  It intends to establish Sukhashraya to provide accommodation to children and orphans.  The State also intends to make provisions for the care, protection, and self-reliance of the children residing in the Sukhashrayas and this has necessitated to enact of the proposed legislation.  The bills also proposed to constitute Children Welfare Committee on the state and district levels. The bill would be discussed and cleared tomorrow on the last day of the session. 

Speaking on the bill leader of the opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that there was no need to bring the legislation in its present form as there is a similar provision in the juvenile justice act of the center. Mr. Thakur said that no chief minister earlier name any legislation or scheme in his name but the name of the bill suggests that the bureaucracy tried to appease the Chief Minister by applying butter by suggesting its name on the incumbent  Chief Minister. 

Participating in the discussion on the bill BJP Member Hans Raj said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu should be deserve credited by proposing a nomenclature different from the normal as Congress always names every scheme after Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

All the members of the house passed the legislation unanimously with voice votes.

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