‘Cattle get more funds for food than orphans’

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Dr Anil Bonde has been trying to draw the attention of the state government towards how it is paying more for cattle than for children in orphanages. He pointed out that cattle get Rs 70 per day for fodder, while a child from an orphanage gets a mere Rs 30 per day. He demanded that the grants for orphan children be increased from the existing Rs 900 to Rs 1,500 per month.

It could be the worse comparison, but it’s a fact that the state government pays more than double the amount for animal fodder than for a child living in an orphanage.

The state government pays Rs 70 per animal per day for fodder camps so that cattle can survive and are not a burden on farmers during the agrarian crisis. Around 255 fodder camps have been operating since August in the drought-affected Beed, Osmanabad and Latur districts of Marathwada at the cost of Rs 60 crore every month.

Unfortunately, orphan and special children living in orphanages or shelters run by the state government and aided by NGOs are not as lucky. The government pays Rs 30 per child per day as grants to NGOs running the shelters. There are a total 1,105 homes for children in the state, of which 1,062 are run by various registered NGOs. The government pays them Rs 900 per normal child per month (Rs 30 per day) for meals, and Rs 990 (Rs 33 per day) per special child.

Ironically, NGOs that run shelters for kids, have not received grants for the last three years. A senior official said that Rs 156 crore that had been sought by the women and child welfare development department to pay dues of children’s homes, was not sanctioned by the finance department.

Dr Bonde, who represents the Morshi constituency in the Amravati district, has demanded more grants for children’s homes being run by NGOs.

“It is unfair that the government pays Rs 70 for an animal and a human child gets Rs 30 for food. The government should increase the grant to shelters to at least Rs 1,500 per month from the current Rs 900,” Dr Bonde told reporters. He added, “The grant should also be given in time.”