SHILLONG, May 30: Since the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the state, one minor in Meghalaya has lost both her parents whereas 34 other children have lost one of their parents to the virus.
Avijit Mani Tripathi, standing counsel for Meghalaya, in his submission to the Supreme Court about the identification of children who have become orphans post-March 2020, mentioned that the 16-year-old minor girl who lost both her parents (mother on May 14 and father on May 22) has already been presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and is presently staying with her relatives. Social investigation is being carried out by the CWC and accordingly a decision will be taken on whether she would continue to stay with her relatives or be moved to a child care institution, the counsel said.
In the meanwhile telephonic counselling has been provided to her by the District Child Protection Unit and arrangements are being made to provide financial assistance of Rs 2000 per month under the Integrated Child Development Scheme, the counsel submitted.
It was further submitted that 34 children in the state have lost one of their parents since April 1 till date and in all the cases, social investigation is being carried out by the concerned CWC to ensure whether any of them is in need of special care and protection under Section 2(14) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
The counsel also submitted that Meghalaya was largely unaffected in the first wave of pandemic and till April 30, 2021 there were only about 17,000 cases and 171 deaths in the state. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned severe in May resulting in the total number of cases doubling to 34,448 and deaths going up to 551 as on May 29.
“For the period between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 there was no reported case of any child becoming orphan due to the pandemic. However, data on children becoming orphans due to other reasons is being complied as reports are awaited from DCPUs and CWCs from all the districts. Meghalaya would be seeking some more time from the Court for furnishing data on children who have become orphans due to any reason not attributed to the pandemic,” the submission said.
In a recent order, the Supreme Court has asked the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India and counsels appearing for all the state governments including Meghalaya to furnish the latest information about the identification of children who have become orphans post-March 2020, whether due to the pandemic or otherwise, and steps taken for attending to their basic needs.
The court ordered the counsels for the state governments to submit the information they receive from the respective state governments to the amicus curiae by May 30 evening.
