Statutory rights of over 10 crore elderly persons in India must be recognised and implemented, the Supreme Court said on Thursday, directing the Centre to prepare a pan-India report on the number of old-age homes and the kind of medical and geriatric care facilities being provided to them. To that end, the Court directed the states to provide all the information to the Centre which will then file a report by January 31, 2019. It also suggested a relook at the pension for the nation's elderly that is more in keeping with the times.
The Court passed the order on separate PILs filed by former Union Law Minister Ashwini Kumar and lawyer Sanjeeb Panigrahi, which highlighted the plight of the elderly in the country. They pointed out that under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (MWP Act), the pension amount fixed for indigent elderly persons aged between 60 and 79 was a paltry sum of Rs 200. Under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, a sum of Rs 500 is given to indigent elderly aged above 80 years.
The bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta found this amount to be too low and said, "In particular, the Government of India and the state governments must revisit the grant of pension to the elderly so that it is more realistic. Of course, this would depend upon the availability of finances and the economic capacity." Help Age India Chairman Mathew Cherian assisted the Court as amicus curiae and suggested that the pension amount be raised to a minimum of Rs 1,000 for age category 60-79 and Rs 2,000 for those aged above 80 to ensure a life of dignity to our elderly.
Ironically, the mandate of the MWP Act was not being followed, rued the petitioners. According to them, neither pension amount is being disbursed to the elderly nor is there an old age home in each district of the country as required under Section 19 of the MWP Act.
The number of elderly persons has increased from 1.98 crore in 1951 to 7.6 crore in 2001. By 2011, their number rose to 10.38 crore. Yet, according to Ashwini Kumar, there are only 296 old age homes run by the Social Welfare Department across 684 districts, which cater to only 13,000 elderly persons.
Additionally, section 20 of the MWP Act provides for medical support for senior citizens wherein government hospitalsare mandated to provide beds for all senior citizens, as far as possible. But there is no account of whether it's being followed so the court also ordered the states and Centre to compile data on the medical and geriatric care to elderly.
NUMBERS TELL A SAD TALE
- The number of elderly has increased from 7.6 cr in 2001 to 10.38 cr in 2011
- Yet, according to Ashwini Kumar, there are only 296 old-age homes run across 684 districts, which cater to only 13,000 elderly
- Currently, pension for 60-69 yr old is Rs 200, over 80 yrs old get Rs 500
- India spends less than 0.91% of its GDP on elderly
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