STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam government has notified new rules for the female employees of the state government in respect of child adoption leave. These set of rules are known as the Assam State Government Commencement Employees’ Child Adoption Leave (CAL) Rules, 2024.
According to the new rules, the eligibility criteria for this leave include a female government employee having less than two surviving children (inclusive of biological children, if any, and adoptive children, if any), on accepting a child in pre-adoption foster care or on valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, may be granted CAL by an authority competent to grant leave for a maximum period of 180 (one hundred and eighty) days, immediately after accepting the child in pre-adoption foster care or on valid adoption, as the case may be, for fostering the adopted child subject.
The rules define a “female government employee” as a married or unmarried or a widow or a divorcee female government employee. Key provisions of the policy include that CAL is admissible only on the production of documents regarding pre-adoption foster care or valid adoption on completion of the legal processes and the adoption being recognized by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) or any such recognized agencies.
The rules specify that CAL shall not be admissible if a female government employee already has two surviving children (biological or adopted, as the case may be) at the time of adoption. During the period of such CAL, the female employee shall be paid leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave. CAL cannot be availed for more than one spell. It shall not be debited against the leave account.
Key provision of this policy involves 180 days to be granted under this rule by the Competent Authority. A female government employee on valid adoption of a child may also be granted, if applied for, leave of the kind due and admissible (including leave not due and commuted leave not exceeding 60 days without production of a medical certificate) for a period up to one year reduced by the age of the adopted child on the date of valid adoption, without taking into account CAL. Notably, CAL cannot be availed for more than one spell, and no leave is admissible during the probation period. No CAL shall be admissible during the probationary period.
Furthermore, the nature of CAL shall be like the earned leave, and therefore all Gazette Government holidays falling during the period of leave shall also be counted for CAL like earned leave.
The rule book defines adoption as the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his biological parents and becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that are attached to a biological child or as per guidelines governing adoption of children under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Also watch: