With the aim to improve the status of senior citizens in India, the Central government is working on several changes, including the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The bill that was passed by the Cabinet Ministry in December 2019 aims to prevent parents and senior citizens from being put in old age homes, ensuring their needs, safety and security.
The Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is on the agenda of the Union Government. It is also in the list of bills most likely to be taken up throughout monsoon session 2021 shared by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
This Bill for the maintenance of senior citizens and parents was first approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2019 but is yet to be cleared by the Parliament. It aims to prevent people from abandoning parents and senior citizens. The Bill provides for the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens to ensure their basic needs, safety and security. Coming in the wake of two devastating waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, this Bill will give more power to senior citizens and parents if cleared by the Parliament in the current session.
Senior citizens are hoping that the Parliament and the Indian President will give the nod to the bill in the coming few days. The Central government, however, has made a few changes to the bill before introducing it to Parliament.
The bill, which seeks to bring changes to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, aims to remove the upper cap of maintenance charge for senior citizens from the existing Rs 10,000.
So, if the bill gets passed in the Parliament and gets the blessings of the President then senior citizens can get more than Rs 10,000 as maintenance charge. However, the maintenance tribunals will consider several factors such as standard of living, earning of the parent or senior citizen, and the salary of their children before awarding such maintenance fees.
