Maharashtra spends more on cattle than orphan kids: BJP MLA

More money is spent on the upkeep of cattle in Maharashtra than orphans in state-run shelter homes, a ruling BJP legislator has said.

Anil Bonde, the Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Morshi (Amravati), said that the state shells out Rs.70 per day per animal in a fodder camp, while orphans in state-run children's homes get only Rs.30 per child per day as food expenses.

Meanwhile, officials said non-governmental organisations running orphanages in Maharashtra have not received dues totalling Rs.156 crore for three years, pending sanction from the authorities.

More than 250 fodder camps for cattle have been set up in water-scarcity hit districts of Marathwada like Latur, Beed and Osmanabad since August 2015.

The state has so far spent around Rs.60 crore on these cattle camps, Bonde told the media here on Monday evening.

In contrast, Bonde said, there are 1,105 orphanages in the state, including 1,062 run by recognised non-governmental organisations.

The government pays them Rs.900 per month per child (Rs.30 per day) for food while Rs.990 (Rs.33 per child) is given for special children every month.

Bonde demanded that the state government hike the money given to children's homes to at least Rs.1,500 (Rs.50 per day per child) per month and disburse it on schedule.