CM praises 'noble gesture' of adopting Jyoti

'Children of the State' Jyoti (Pseudo name) presently residing in Child Care Home at Tutikandi, Shimla, was adopted by her new parents in the presence of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who is also the Chairman of Himachal Pradesh Child Welfare Council, here on Wednesday. The Chief Minister lauded the couple for this initiative and congratulated them for the noble gesture. He appealed to the wealthier section of the society to adopt the children residing in the Child Care Centers and provide them a safe, happy and bright future.
He added that the State Government was arduously working for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society. The Government understands the problems faced by the orphans and other weaker sections of the society, and as a result Mukhya Mantri Sukh Ashray Yojana has been started in the state. Himachal is the first state to come up with a law for the welfare of orphan children and vulnerable sections. Around 4,000 orphan children are covered under the ambit of the scheme and state has shouldered the complete responsibility of their studies and overall development. In other words, the Government has assumed the role of their mother and father. Benefits worth around 18 crores have also been disbursed under the scheme till date
The Government also came up with a unique initiative 'Mukhy Mantri Sukh Ashray Kosh' in which generous contributions are pouring in from all over the state, including from Ministers and MLAs. These funds are being utilized for providing various benefits like paying for educational, accommodation exposure visits or various other expenses of those covered under the scheme remarked the Chief Minister.
Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi, Director, Women and Child Development, Rupali Thakur and General Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Child Welfare Council, Mohan Dutt Sharma was also present on the occasion.