8
city FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2013
SPECIAL REPORT
DAWN OF A NEW
TOMORROW?
The Union Budget is not likely to change anything for many of us, but for millions of senior citizens in India, it is a matter of life and death. Will 2013 be the year they finally receive their due? PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com
T
he last time senior citizens in this country were truly hopeful of a better future was back in 1999, the year in which, after decades of delay, the National Policy on Older Persons was unveiled. It was even officially celebrated as the ‘National
Year of Older Persons’. The dawn of a new tomorrow, many said. Thirteen years later, the act is all but forgotten. In 2007, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act was introduced but is still in varied stages of implementation across the country. Whatever the Acts, progress has been slow and results, negligible. The story
of the 10 crore or more senior citizens is still largely that of neglect, vulnerability, destitution and despair. That is not to say, welfare schemes were not introduced. Implementation, however, is another story. Pensions, for instance, were introduced, but are embarrassingly inadequate. Under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), more than three crore senior citizens (in the age group of 60-80) subsist on a monthly token amount of `200 a month. “Which is almost never on time, reduced to half or less, thanks to rampant corruption in the pension office and so grossly inadequate, it’s shameful,” rues Kiran Shukla, a Kanpur based advocate who specialises in cases of elderly abuse. Predictably, the chief reason for the poor execution of the NPOP-99 and others through the years has remained the same — budgetary constraints. Representation after representation by senior citizen wel-
fare groups were made to rectify the situation, with little luck. However, for the first time in 13 years, there seemed like a glimmer of hope when this year, a Working Group on Social Welfare was constituted by the Planning Commission
which made a series of recommendations for adoption in the 12th Five Year Plan. “Every time we made representations, asked about why little was being done to implement the National Policy on Older Persons, the States said
Recommendations of the Working Group ignored by the Planning Commission Senior Citizen’s groups allege that only 11 out of 30 recommendations of the Working Group were taken note of while the rest were ignored.
n Providing training to care givers in 100 cities.
n To increase insurance cover under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna to `1 lakh for senior citizens from existing `30,000.
n Setting up of separate department of senior citizens.
n Make provision of 1,800 crore for setting more Geriatric Centres/Wards for Senior Citizens. n Enhancement of Pension under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. n 14 Centres for assisted living for rehabilitation of elderly suffering from dementia etc. n Setting up of National Institute
of Ageing.
n Free legal service to BPL seniors.
Crucial issues still in debate n Enhancement of Pension under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. Proposal for a universal pension of `2,000 for all BPL senior citizens with 50 per cent more for 80+. n Establishment of one Old Age Home per district. n Proper implementation of the NPOP-99.