Senior citizens’ welfare Act to get some tweaks

NEWDELHI: MAINTENANCE MAY NOW DEPEND ON THE INCOME OF BOTH THE SENIOR CITIZEN AND THEIR DESIGNATED CARETAKER

The union ministry of social justice and empowerment has proposed doing away with the ₹10,000 cap on the maintenance allowance that is payable to senior citizens by their children or other caretakers and instead linking it to the sources of income of both the elderly and their next of kin, an official aware of the development said on Tuesday.

The ministry has also suggested widening the definition of children to include biological children, adopted or step children, sons-in-law and daughtersin-law, grandchildren and even minors represented by their legal guardians. Earlier, the term children included only sons and daughters and grandchildren, excluding minors.

The proposal that will now be sent to the union cabinet for approval follows feedback from senior citizens and non-government organizations working with disadvantaged elderly on the need to revisit the conditions for payment of the allowance under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (MWPSC) Act, 2007.

According to the official cited above, who requested anonymity, the ministry has proposed that the amount to be paid should be decided by a maintenance tribunal after taking into account the income earned by both parties, senior citizens as well as those designated as their caretakers .

After the MWPSC was enacted in 2007, tribunals were constituted under the Act to enforce its provisions including payment of the maintenance allowance. Senior citizen can file an application before these tribunals to claim maintenance and seek relief if their assets and immovable property are forcibly taken over by their children or other relatives.