Bhubaneswar, December 6: As many as 453 children in the State are homeless, informed Deputy Chief Minister Pravtai Parida on Saturday.

Parida, who holds the Women and Child Development portfolio, disclosed in the State Assembly that a sum of Rs 8,73,84,770 has been spent for their care, protection and rehabilitation in last five years.

Responding to query of MLA Sarada Prasad Nayak, Parida said highest number of 124 such children were rescued in Dhenkanal district during 2025-26 followed by 96 in Nuapada, 76 in Puri, 35 in Jharsuguda, 30 in Mayurbhnaj, 15 in Keonjhar, 13 each in Bargarh and Sundergarh, nine in Subarnapur, eight in Khurda, seven in Jajpur, six in Cuttack, four each in Sambalpur and Balasore, three each in Nayagarh and Jagatsinghpur, two in Kalahandi and one each in Angul, Bhadrak and Ganjam. However, no such children have been identified in Boudh, Kandhamal, Koraputm Malkangiri, and Nabarangpur, the Minister told the House.

“Out of the 453 rescued children, including 234 girls, 416 children have been restored in child care institutions and a total of Rs 8,73,84,770 has been spent for their care, protection and rehabilitation,” Parida further informed the House.

Notably, as per Baal Swaraj dashboard on Child in Street Situations (CISS) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, 320 such children were identified in Odisha in 2023.

As per the date Khurda recorded the highest number of such children at 188, followed by Sundargarh 42, Jajpur 20, Ganjam 17, Gajapati 15, Subarnapur 14 and Malkangiri 13.