By IANS,
Panaji : The Goa government has come out with a special voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for government employees who have differently abled children.
The scheme, which was unveiled by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat while presenting the additional budget for 2009-10 on the floor of the Goa legislative assembly Friday, will now allow parents of differently abled children to opt for early retirement with certain financial benefits to ensure better care and attention to their wards.
“My government is also very sensitive towards the problems faced by the family members, while bringing up their differently abled and special children. More so when both the parents are working, the children are left with either the maid servant or the elderly members of the family who fail to take good care of these children,” Kamat said.
“In the absence of proper care, the health of such children suffers and they become prone to various ailments. The modalities of the scheme are being worked out but a provision of Rs.100 lakh is already made in this budget,” Kamat said.
He further said that the government was also in the process of formulating another scheme, which would look after the interests of differently abled and special children who lose their parents or when their parents grow old.
Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar told IANS that he welcomed the special VRS scheme but said the government had in the past failed to implement the simplest of projects.
“I appreciate it. But it needs to be worked out properly. I would have preferred allowing such employees a provision of long leave rather than VRS, which is virtually termination of employment,” Parrikar said.