The Keralam Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a law to protect the rights and dignity of senior citizens, shield them from abuse and improve their access to government services, Hindustan Times reported. Members of both the ruling side and the opposition backed it, and the government accepted amendments moved by some Left Democratic Front (LDF) MLAs.
HT reported that Keralam is the first state in the country to adopt such a comprehensive law for senior citizens.
What the law does
- Abuse: a family member, legal heir or care-home staff member who physically or mentally abuses or mistreats a senior citizen can be jailed for up to three years and fined ₹50,000.
- Abandonment: leaving a senior citizen without their consent carries the same penalty.
- Care homes: senior citizen care centres must register, and home caregivers must be trained and certified.
- Oversight: state-level and district-level senior citizen care protection units will monitor schemes, order action on complaints about care centres and involve local organisations.
What leaders said
Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said the law was a response to a changing world and demographic shifts. "Welfare is not the central tenet of this bill. Creating a silver economy is the principal aim," he said, adding that older people could take a leading role in many schemes. He said the law did not conflict with any central law.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said cases of elderly people being abandoned by their families at railway stations and other public places are reported regularly, and spoke of the difficulties faced by older people whose children live abroad.
The national picture
India's ageing population is growing fast. According to a Press Information Bureau backgrounder, the 2011 Census counted 10.38 crore people aged 60 and above, and their number is projected to reach 23 crore by 2036. The Centre runs a national helpline for senior citizens, Elderline, on 14567.