The Indian government is forcing all its states to bring into immediate effect an act that will benefit older people. All the states, apart from six, have implemented the act.
According to D. Napoleon, India's minister of state for social justice & empowerment, all the states and union territories excepting Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim have brought the Maintenance And Welfare of Parents And Senior Citizens Act, 2007 into force.
The remaining states have been urged to immediately notify and implement the Act.
The minister also informed that the Scheme for Integrated Programme for Older Persons that was revised in April 2008 will prioritize sensitizing programs for children in schools and colleges.
The government is also in the process of providing financial assistance to non governmental organizations to aid in the construction of old age homes and running and maintaining the same.
Mathew Cherian, CEO, HelpAge India says, "The government says that one old age home is to be maintained in every district. However, the funding is not enough to fulfill that criteria."
Cherian also feels old age homes are not the solution. "The government should strengthen its pubic health system and sensitize children to look after their parents. Otherwise in a vast country like India, it is impossible to accommodate all the old people in old age homes," Cherian says.
People over 65 years constitute 5.3% of the Indian population. This number is expected to grow to 170 million in the next 25 years. According to HelpAge India, 47.3% of elders are abused by their own children.
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act was passed in 2007 to protect the rights of the elderly. The Act makes it a punishable offense to abandon parents who are unable to maintain themselves.
However, as Cherian says, the law only talks about punishment. There should be instead a system of incentives. "Looking after the old can be expensive. The government should provide some kind of incentive in the form of maybe tax breaks to children who look after their parents to encourage them."
He adds, "The law is against the very ethos of India. No parents will ever lodge a complaint against their children unless pushed to the extreme. So, it is not like atrocities do not hapen - but very few gets reported."
SOURCE: All Headline News
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