Income criteria must not count for benefits to children losing parents to Covid: OPS

Chief Coordinator of the AIADMK and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, O Panneerselvam (OPS) has urged the state government not to discriminate against children who have lost one or both the parents to Covid -19, on the basis of income criteria while providing financial assistance. In a statement released on Monday, OPS said that all children who have been orphaned or lost one of the parents to Covid-19 should be provided financial assistance.

He said that there are certain discriminatory provisions included in the operational guidelines issued for implementing the scheme and contended that people suspect that such provisions were intended only to reduce the number of beneficiaries under the scheme.

The operational guidelines issued for implementing the scheme by the Social Welfare Department, mention the annual income of the parents as one of the eligibility criteria for providing benefits under the scheme. The former CM said that this would lead to discrimination. In the statement, he said, "It would not be proper to consider the income criteria of the parents to decide whether the child is entitled to financial assistance for his/her education, as it decides the child's future."

He urged the Chief Minister to personally intervene in the matter to ensure that children were not discriminated against and that they received financial assistance as they have already lost a parent.

In the guidelines of the scheme if one or both the deceased parents were Government/Quasi-Government or Public Sector Undertakings employees, the children are not eligible for assistance. OPS wants the Chief Minister to remove this and to avoid consideration for financial assistance based on the income of the family.

Under the scheme announced by the Chief Minister last month, a deposit of Rs 5 lakh would be made in the name of children who have lost both the parents due to Covid-19. The deposit would be paid to the child along with the accrued interest when he/ she attains the age of 18 years.

The guidelines said that in case the child loses one of the parents due to Covid-19, a sum of Rs 3 lakh would be granted to the other parent provided that the child qualifies all other eligibility criteria.-IANS