Odisha Govt Plans To Ask MLAs To Adopt Orphaned Children, Says Dy CM

Bhubaneswar: In order to ensure a better future for orphaned children, the Odisha government is planning to launch an initiative for the legislators to adopt them.

Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida revealed this while speaking to media persons on Tuesday. Though the final plan in this regard was yet to be prepared, she said such a programme would be a trend-setter at global level.

Parida said around 8,000 children without parents are being taken care in 225 foster homes across the state under the state government’s Mission Vatsalya and the Centre’s PM CARES scheme. “If each MLA adopts five children, lives of more than 600 children can be changed for better,” she said.

Stating that the children in foster homes have extraordinary talent in various fields, she said they can prove to be brilliant citizens under encouraging patronage. The government planned to encourage the legislators to lead by example by adopting the less previleged children, she added.

However, she said the department was yet to take final decision on the matter though it was preparing a list to facilitate the adoption process.