Aimed at providing appropriate care, protection, development, and self-reliance to orphans, specially-abled children, destitute women, and elderly individuals, the Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday launched first of its kind scheme - ‘Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashraya Yojana’.
As he formally launched the scheme in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the purpose of the scheme was to serve the most vulnerable section of the society. “In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, my government took a decision to adopt the orphans, the specially-abled children as the ‘Children of the State’ and work for their upliftment and well-being, giving them all parental care, besides taking care of the destitute women and elderly who have no one to look after,” he said.
He said despite facing financial challenges and the recent disaster that struck Himachal Pradesh, the State government started this scheme. The Chief Minister distributed financial benefits worth ₹4.68 crore to eligible children which includes ₹15.52 lakh for fees and other hostel expenses, along with ₹11.52 lakh as monthly expenses benefiting 48 orphaned children for pursuing higher education. Apart from this, ₹7.02 lakh for fees and ₹4.08 lakh for monthly expenses were also distributed to 17 orphaned children enrolled in a few professional courses.
