The ministry of social justice and welfare has proposed the formation of a national commission for senior citizens to better protect the rights of the elderly.
India's elderly population, 60 years and above, was close to 10.4 crore, according to the 2011 census. It is expected to touch 32 crore by 2050. The need for a senior citizens' commission is tremendous, say activists, who have been demanding the formation of such a commission since 2010. On February 7, a Parliamentary standing committee report had recommended the formation of the commission for senior citizens.
The draft bill for the National Commission for Senior Citizens lists the proposed commission's responsibilities. These involve looking into matters of deprivation of senior citizens' rights, taking suo moto cognisance of their human rights violations and making recommendations to relevant authorities to take action. The proposed commission will inspect old-age homes, prisons and remand homes to see if their rights are being violated.
"While we already have a commission for children and another one for women, the elderly, whose population is touching 12 crore, do not have a commission. The proposal for forming a commission is a welcome move," said Dr Aabha Chaudhary, chairperson, Anugraha, a Delhi-based non-profit for the elderly.
Anugraha is one of the 17 organisations and individuals to have received an email, a copy of which is with dna, from the ministry of social justice and welfare that contains the five-page draft bill. Among the other recipients are Dignity Foundation, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and HelpAge. The August 12 mail from the ministry's deputy secretary Surendra Rawat, says, "You are requested to furnish your comments/suggestions on the draft Bill by August 20 positively through e-mail, failing which it will be presumed that you have no comments to offer."
This has irked some activists who feel the draft bill should be widely circulated for diverse opinions to help constitute a stronger commission. For instance, the ministry has ignored one of the biggest elderly confederations — All India Senior Citizens Confederation. AISCCON has a membership of over 15 lakh senior citizens. Similarly, members of the National Council of Senior Citizens, which was formed by the Central government, too were left out of the consultation.
"All NGOs, federations, geriatricians, senior citizens, legal professionals, women, youth should be consulted before the finalisation of a draft bill," said Dr SP Kinjawadekar, ex-president, AISCCON. "We never received any communication regarding the formation of the National Commission from the ministry. Also eight days notice is too short for a response. The dates should be extended."
Experts said that the commission should have teeth and all stake holders should be consulted before it's formation. "While the number for elder abuse cases are rising especially in the rural areas, the Maintenance and Welfare Act for Senior Citizens, 2007 is yet to percolate to the last person. A commission will define the roles to be played by NGOs, police and the ministry and act as a nodal agency for redress of complaints," said Sailesh Mishra, founder, Silver Innings Foundation.
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