Scheme To Support Orphan Child/Children Of Widows Belonging To Scheduled Tribe Community

What is the Scheme To Support Orphan Child/Children Of Widows Belonging To Scheduled Tribe Community?

This scheme is a maintenance allowance run by the Department of Tribal Welfare, Government of Goa, for two of the most vulnerable groups in the state's Scheduled Tribe population: orphaned children, and the children of widows.

The purpose is stated plainly in the scheme notification published in the Official Gazette by the Goa Government Printing Press; to give financial support to orphaned children and the children of widows for meeting expenditure on food, clothing and shelter until the children attain the age of eighteen years.

The scheme pays a fixed monthly maintenance allowance, not a one-time grant, and the amount differs by situation:

• Rs 1,500 per month for each child of a Scheduled Tribe widow, limited to two children
• Rs 2,000 per month for each Scheduled Tribe orphan

Administratively the scheme runs on two separate routes, and getting the route right is the first practical decision an applicant makes. A widow applies to the Directorate of Social Welfare, because she is already in that directorate's system as a Dayanand Social Security Scheme beneficiary. A guardian of an orphan applies to the Directorate of Tribal Welfare directly.

Who is eligible for the maintenance allowance?

The threshold condition for both routes: the applicant must belong to the Scheduled Tribe community, certified by the competent authority.

For children of widows, the widow applies:

• The applicant must be a Dayanand Social Security Scheme (DSSS) beneficiary.
• The applicant must have minor children.
• The benefit is limited to a maximum of two children.

For orphans. The guardian applies:

• The applicant must be the guardian of an orphan.
• The orphan must be under the care of a guardian, which includes grandparents, near relatives, or a protective home or dharmasala.
• The orphan must be up to the age of eighteen years.

You cannot apply if:

• The family does not belong to the Scheduled Tribe community. The ST certificate from the competent authority is the foundation of the claim.
• The widow is not a Dayanand Social Security Scheme beneficiary. DSSS enrolment must come first; this allowance is layered on top of it and is paid alongside it.
• You are a widow claiming for a third or subsequent child. The cap of two is absolute.
• The orphan has already attained eighteen years. The allowance ends at 18 and cannot be claimed after that point.
• You are a guardian who is not caring for the child. The scheme is built around actual custody by a grandparent, near relative, protective home or dharmasala.

How much is paid, and how?

A widow with two eligible children therefore draws Rs 3,000 a month under this scheme, on top of her Dayanand Social Security Scheme benefit. A guardian caring for one orphan draws Rs 2,000 a month.

Duration. The financial support runs until the children attain the age of eighteen years in both routes.

Mode of disbursement. This differs by route, and it matters:

• For children of widows, the amount is released to the beneficiary together with the benefits under the Dayanand Social Security Scheme. There is no separate credit to track.
• For orphans — the benefit amount is transferred through the Electronic Clearance System (ECS) into the joint account of the orphan and the guardian. A joint account is therefore a practical prerequisite, and it should be opened before the application is filed.

What documents are required?

For children of widows, filed with the Directorate of Social Welfare

For orphans, filed with the Directorate of Tribal Welfare

How to apply for the maintenance allowance

If you are a widow (Dayanand Social Security Scheme beneficiary):

1. Obtain the prescribed application form, Annexure A, published with the scheme notification by the Goa Government Printing Press.
2. Fill in every mandatory field and attach your marriage certificate, your husband's death certificate, your Scheduled Tribe certificate, the income certificate, and evidence of your DSSS beneficiary status.
3. Submit the completed Annexure A to the Directorate of Social Welfare, and keep a photocopy along with any acknowledgement.

If you are the guardian of an orphan:

1. Open a joint bank account in the names of the orphan and yourself as guardian, because the ECS transfer goes into that account.
2. Obtain the prescribed application form, Annexure B, published with the scheme notification.
3. Fill in every mandatory field and attach the orphan's birth certificate, the death certificates of the father and mother, the Scheduled Tribe certificate, the income certificate, your election card or ration card, and the joint account details.
4. Submit the completed Annexure B to the Directorate of Tribal Welfare, and keep a photocopy along with any acknowledgement.

What happens after you apply?

In the widow route, the Director of Social Welfare scrutinises the application and sanctions the amount of benefit. The Director of Tribal Welfare then releases the sanctioned funds on receiving the sanction order information, and the Director of Social Welfare in turn releases the amount to the beneficiary along with her Dayanand Social Security Scheme benefits. The money therefore arrives as part of the DSSS payment rather than as a separate credit.

In the orphan route, the Director of Tribal Welfare scrutinises and sanctions the benefit, and the amount is then transferred through the Electronic Clearance System into the joint account of the orphan and the guardian.

Note the funding flow in the widow route: Tribal Welfare provides the money, Social Welfare sanctions and pays it. A widow chasing a delayed payment should therefore start with the Directorate of Social Welfare, which is the office that holds her file.

Why applications get rejected or delayed

• No Scheduled Tribe certificate. ST status certified by the competent authority is the gateway condition for both routes, and it cannot be substituted.
• Widow not enrolled in the Dayanand Social Security Scheme. DSSS beneficiary status is a precondition, and a widow who has not applied for DSSS must do that first.
• Claim for a third child. Only two children of a widow are eligible.
• Orphan already 18. The allowance cannot be claimed once the child attains eighteen years, so applying promptly matters most for older children.
• Wrong directorate. Annexure A goes to Social Welfare and Annexure B to Tribal Welfare. Filing at the wrong office adds weeks.
• No joint account for an orphan. The ECS transfer requires a joint account of the orphan and the guardian; a guardian's individual account will not do.
• Missing death certificate. The husband's death certificate in the widow route, and the parents' death certificates in the orphan route, are the documents that establish the underlying status.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Tribal Welfare, Government of Goa. The department that owns the scheme, sanctions the orphan route, and funds both routes. See tribalwelfare.goa.gov.in.
• Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Goa, the office that receives Annexure A, sanctions the widow route, and pays the allowance alongside the Dayanand Social Security Scheme.
• Official Gazette notification. The full scheme text and both annexures are published by the Goa Government Printing Press at goaprintingpress.gov.in.

There is no application fee for this scheme, and no agent is needed to file it. Because the allowance is monthly and ends at eighteen, the value of applying early is simply the number of months of support the child actually receives.

How to check your application status

This scheme has no online tracking portal or application number system; both routes are paper-based, so checking status means following up directly with the directorate that holds the file.

If you applied as a widow (Annexure A, Directorate of Social Welfare):

1. Visit or call the Directorate of Social Welfare, Panaji, and quote the date you submitted Annexure A along with your name and the photocopy or acknowledgement you kept at submission.
2. Ask specifically whether the Director has scrutinised and sanctioned the application yet, since that is the step that must happen before any money moves.
3. If it is sanctioned, ask whether the Directorate of Tribal Welfare has released the funds to Social Welfare, because payment only reaches you after that inter-departmental transfer.
4. Once released, the allowance shows up together with your Dayanand Social Security Scheme payment, so a simple way to confirm it has started is to check whether your regular DSSS credit has increased by Rs 1,500 per eligible child.

If you applied as a guardian of an orphan (Annexure B, Directorate of Tribal Welfare):

1. Contact the Directorate of Tribal Welfare directly, referencing the date Annexure B was filed and the acknowledgement copy.
2. Ask whether the application has been scrutinised and sanctioned, and if so, whether the ECS transfer to the joint account has been initiated.
3. Check the joint bank account of the orphan and guardian for a credit of Rs 2,000; because the transfer is electronic, the bank statement is the most reliable confirmation once the directorate confirms sanction has happened.
4. If the account shows no credit weeks after the directorate confirms sanction, raise this with the bank first, since ECS failures are usually due to an incorrect or inactive account number on file rather than a delay at the directorate.

Because neither route offers SMS or portal updates, keep the acknowledgement copy from submission safely. It is the only reference the department has to locate your file quickly when you follow up.