Get paid for adopting orphans in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - Families that adopt orphan children in Orissa will be paid a maintenance allowance of Rs.750 per month, it was announced here Saturday.

“The state has thousands of orphan children. While 800 such children were housed in 91 government-run orphanages, many still need care,” state Women and Child Development Minister Pramila Mallick told IANS.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday at the state secretariat.

A formal notification in this regard is likely to be issued in a fortnight, Mallick said. The government is also working on procedures to identify such families that have adopted orphans.

The state government has been providing similar maintenance allowance to the registered orphanages in the state.