Bhubaneswar: As part of its commitments, Odisha government on Wednesday said it would soon launch the Biju Bal Bikas Yojana for the rehabilitation of the orphan and destitute children in the state.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik issued a direction in this regard to the department of women and child development.
The department was told to launch the yojana immediately after preparing a planning for the proper rehabilitation of such children, said WCD minister Usha Devi, who attended a meeting on annual performance review of the department.
Earlier, Governor S C Jamir in his inaugural address to the first session of the 15th Assembly in June last year, had announced the government's plan for such a scheme for the orphan and destitute children.
Patnaik also directed the department to take steps for opening one special school in each districts of the physically challenged children with focus on the mentally challenged and autistic children.
It was also decided at the meeting that the newly created department of social security and disabled empowerment would be operational from the July.
As ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) is key to the welfare of the women and children in the state, Patnaik also directed that all the ICDS centres operating in the state needed to be centres of excellence in their field.
"Every year the department will construct 8,000 anganwadi houses," the minister said adding that the Chief Minister had asked the department to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in all the ICDS centres and anganwadi centres across the state.
Patnaik also directed to include all the 30 years of age plus unmarried destitute women under the Madhubabu Pension Scheme in order to ensure their social security. The data base of all the pension holders to be prepared in the state and steps would be taken delete names of undesirable pension holders from the list, an official release said.
The Chief Minister also said that a third party audit should be made to all the schemes under which beneficiaries are being given cash benefits.
