Social Welfare

The social Welfare Department is entrusted mainly with the welfare activities for the indigent and weaker section of the society with special focus on children, women, old and infirm, vagrants and drug abuse victims. Under the integrated Child Development Services Schemes(ICDS), a multisectoral programme, a package of services comprising supplementary nutrition health care, and immunisation and pre-school education is provided to children upto 6 years of age through Anganwadi Centres set up for the population unit of 1000 in Project Areas. Around 20 lakhs beneficiaries are covered under the programme. ICDS also serves as a major employment generation intervention, specially for women. More than 55,000 workers, a majority of whom are women, are engaged in this scheme in various capacities.

Government maintains 14 Homes with separate units for observation homes, Juvenile Homes, special homes and after care Home including for disabled children. In the addition ten,10 non-government organisations are also running Homes with Government assistance. Apart from JJ Act Homes, Government maintains 5 other Homes for destitute children. There is a total provision for taking care of about 3000 children. Moreover, under the scheme for Children in Need of Care and Protection 306 Cottages are maintained by Non-Government organisations with Government support catering for over 7500 children. Residential Homes for old people are run both by this Department as well as by Non- government agencies. There is a Pension Scheme for old people under which about 12,000 persons receive a monthly pension. There are Pension Schemes for widows and disabled persons also numbering over 9,000 and 5,000 respectively.

Recently, composite programmes are being taken up for street children and children of prostitutes who are a most vulnerable group, through suitable Non-government agencies. Drug abuse prevention is an important area of action wherein Drug Counseling and De-addiction Centres have been set up with Government support through Non-Government agencies benefiting more than 5000 victims so far.