Delhi government to conduct survey to identify children orphaned by COVID-19 pandemic

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New Delhi: Delhi government's Women and Child Development Department will undertake a survey to identify children who have been orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department said it has appointed 20 welfare officers who will conduct the survey in different childcare homes, institutions and district offices in the city.

The officers have been attached with child welfare committees and district child protection units to conduct the survey by July 20, it said.

The Delhi government has planned to give a compensation of Rs 2,500 per month to children who have lost their parents to COVID-19.

Over 2,000 children in the city have lost either one or both their parents to the novel coronavirus infection, with 67 of them losing both their parents, since the pandemic outbreak in March last year, according to a survey conducted by the Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).

As many as 651 children have lost their mothers and 1,311 children lost their fathers to the infection, it stated.

The DCPCR had said the details of these children have been shared with the Department of Women and Child Development for necessary action on its part and ensuring enrolling eligible beneficiaries in schemes notified by the Delhi government for children who have lost their parents due to COVID-19.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on May 14 said his government would bear the cost of education and upbringing of the children orphaned during the pandemic.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month announced a number of welfare measures for such children, including ensuring a corpus of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 23 years of age and providing for their education.