Summary of the Scheme
Name of Scheme	Uttarakhand Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana
Benefits	₹3,000 Monthly Financial Assistance
Beneficiary	COVID-Affected Children (0–21 Years)
Nodal Agency	Women Empowerment and Child Development Department, Uttarakhand
Subscription	Subscribe here to get Update Regarding Scheme
Mode of Apply	Offline

Uttarakhand Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana: A Complete Guide

Monthly support, guardianship and legal protection for children who lost their parents or guardians to COVID-19 or other diseases

The COVID-19 pandemic left many children across India without a parent or guardian. Uttarakhand responded with the Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana, a welfare scheme that offers more than money: it also provides care, legal protection and security for a child’s family property. This guide explains how the scheme works, who qualifies, and how to apply.

What Is the Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana?

The scheme is run by the state’s Women Empowerment and Child Development Department. It was approved on 11 June 2021 and supports children who lost a father, mother or guardian to COVID-19 or other diseases between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2022.

Its goal is to ensure care, rehabilitation, financial support, and protection of movable and immovable property, inheritance and legal rights for affected children from birth up to 21 years of age. All benefits apply from 1 July 2021.

Key Highlights

• Benefit: ₹3,000 per month for each selected child
• Age covered: Birth to 21 years
• Nodal agency: Women Empowerment and Child Development Department, Uttarakhand
• Mode of application: Offline, through the District Probation Officer’s office
• Application fee: None; the process is completely free

Benefits at a Glance

Monthly financial assistance. Each selected child receives ₹3,000 a month as a maintenance allowance until they turn 21. The money is paid through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). For a child under 18, it goes into a joint account held with the Fit Person/guardian. After 18, it goes into the beneficiary’s own account. No other transactions are allowed in this account, so the money is used only for the child’s upkeep.

Care within the family. The Child Welfare Committee prefers to keep the child with the family or extended family, and arranges alternative care only when that is not possible.

Guardianship support. The District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) helps the caregiver apply to the competent court or authority for guardianship within 15 days.

Free legal aid. Through the District Legal Services Authority, the DCPU helps protect the child’s ancestral property, inheritance and legal rights. It also gets the succession certificate issued through the competent court.

Property protection. The District Magistrate keeps a record of the child’s movable and immovable property, reviews it monthly and yearly, and guards it against sale, mortgage or encroachment. The tehsil also physically verifies the property in the first fortnight of January and July each year.

Regular monitoring. The DCPU reviews each child’s well-being every fortnight, and the District Magistrate reviews cases every month.

A Note on Institutional Care

A child with nobody to look after them, or whose guardian is unwilling to care for them, may be declared a “child in need of care and protection” by the Child Welfare Committee and admitted to a government or registered child care institution. Such a child does not receive the ₹3,000 monthly assistance but is entitled to all other support under the scheme.

Who Is Eligible?

To receive financial assistance, a child must:

• Be a permanent or original resident of Uttarakhand
• Be between birth and 21 years of age
• Have lost a parent or guardian to COVID-19 or other diseases between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2022

The child must also fall into one of these situations:

1. One parent died during this period, and the other had already died earlier.
2. The earning member of the family (father or mother) died during this period.
3. The parents had already died earlier, and the child’s guardian died during this period.

Who does not qualify for financial assistance? Children whose surviving parent is in government service, receives an old pension or family pension, or falls within the income tax bracket.

Documents Required

• Birth certificate or other age proof of the child
• Permanent residence certificate of the child
• Child’s Aadhaar number (if available)
• Death certificate of the father and/or mother (if deceased)
• Aadhaar numbers of the father, mother and guardian
• Permanent residence certificate of the guardian or the person the child lives with
• Bank passbook

How to Apply

Applications are made offline, and there is no charge at any stage.

1. Visit the District Probation Officer’s office in your district, or contact the Naib Tehsildar of your tehsil.
2. Collect the application form for financial assistance.
3. Fill in the child’s details: name, date of birth, religion, caste, Aadhaar, addresses, education and health status.
4. Fill in the parents’ details: date of birth, living or deceased status, date and cause of death, occupation, income and Aadhaar.
5. Mention who the child lives with, their relationship, address and mobile number.
6. If both parents have died, add the guardian’s name, relationship, age, gender, Aadhaar, occupation and address.
7. Enter the child’s bank account details: account number, bank name, IFSC and branch.
8. Provide details of the parents’ movable and immovable property.
9. Attach the required documents, sign the form and submit it at the District Probation Officer’s office.

How Children Are Identified and Selected

The scheme does not rely only on families coming forward. A Naib Tehsildar acts as Nodal Officer in every tehsil, identifying affected children with help from Panchayati Raj institutions, village-level child protection committees, Anganwadi workers, teachers, ANM/ASHA workers, local NGOs, Childline 1098, block officials and public representatives. The Nodal Officer also makes sure applications and documents are prepared.

The process then moves through several stages:

• The Nodal Officer shares the child’s details with the DCPU.
• The DCPU contacts the child, virtually or in person, within 24 hours.
• The DCPU assesses the cause of death, the family’s social and economic condition, income sources, the child’s education, property, bank and insurance details, any disability, and the caregiver’s particulars.
• The report goes to the Child Welfare Committee, which conducts an inquiry under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It also goes to the District Magistrate.
• A district-level committee chaired by the District Magistrate selects the beneficiaries. Its members include the Chief Development Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Education Officer, District Supply Officer and District Programme Officer, with the District Probation Officer as Member Secretary.

Once selected, the child begins receiving ₹3,000 a month through DBT.

Budget and a Related Central Scheme

The 2026-27 state budget includes a provision of approximately ₹2 crore for the scheme.

Parents and guardians looking to secure a child’s long-term finances may also want to look at the Central Government’s separate NPS Vatsalya Scheme, which lets them open a National Pension System account for a child. It is a different scheme from the Uttarakhand one described here.