TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
CENTRE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING
Senior Citizens
August 16, 2011
National Solidarity Day
Senior Citizens, inspite of their numbers, collective wisdom and experience, will continue to be ignored and marginalized, unless they unite
Kofi Annan
Another year will be added to the celebrations of India’s Independence Day on 15th August 2011 and the platitudes regarding people, culture, ethnicity, values, etc will once again be repeated through various mediums. Have these good intentions been translated into practice?
When it comes to intentions and practice, especially with senior citizens it raises a big question. Despite the fact that the NPOP(National Policy for Older Persons) was adopted by the Central Government as far back as 1999, the neglect by the State and Central Governments and the entire bureaucracy in the tardy or virtual non-implementation of policies with regard to the welfare of senior citizens is most obvious.
In response to this injustice and neglect, 16th August 2010 was observed as a National Protest Day. As a result of nationwide activity last year, there has been some semblance of positive action from the Central Government such as concessions in Income Tax structure, Railway fares, quantum of Old Age Pension, eligibility criteria for concessions etc. There are also numerous glaring disparities in payment of pensions to retirees from different sectors, causing severe hardship in some cases. These need to be highlighted and their redressal sought
On the National Solidarity Day 16th August, the Centre For Lifelong Learning, Tata Institute of Social Sciences along with 10 crores Older Persons (60 +) citizens of the country, the vast majority of whom are indigent, underfed, insecure and unorganized, are demanding the Government’s immediate attention and action to implement welfare policies at state level. The intentions of the Central Government in formulating schemes / policies for the older persons has been to relieve them from the clutches of hunger, disease, poverty, neglect and insecurity. Three policies exists to translate their intention. These are;National Policy on Older Persons, (NPOP, 1999), enacting the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (MWPSCA, 2007), and announcing the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS, 2007). These Acts and Schemes are a part of the country’s commitment to protect the Human Rights of its senior citizens.
These steps also safeguard the rights of the Older Persons as citizens mandated in the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Indian Constitution which states that “the State will extend support for financial security, health care and shelter for senior citizens and provide protection against abuse and exploitation”.
At the core of the problem is the non-implementation of the NPOP, MWPSCA, and IGNOAPS. The Central Government has directed the State Governments to adopt and operationalise these provisions, however they have largely ignored the issue by declaring a lack of resources. The situation is no better for schemes where the Central Government has allocated partial resources.
The following illustrate the above mentioned statements.
a) Though mandated in the National Policy on Older Persons no health security has been provided by most of the States / UT’s. In the absence of State subsidized health insurance, if a senior citizen falls ill, quality health care is unaffordable.
Today unaffordable health care costs are the major contributor to the poverty in our country as every year 2.1 % of population is pushed below poverty line due to unaffordable health care costs.
b) The status of adoption of NPOP by various states, even after 11 years of its promulgation by the Central Government is bleak; as only seven states, that is, Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi have adopted NPOP.
c) The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (MWPSCA, 2007), largely remains on paper even after its enactment four years ago. This Act if implemented will give protection to the most vulnerable sections of senior citizens who are at risk of abandonment from their own family .But only 7 states have adopted it with fulfillment of two or three conditions out of the specified 5 conditions recommended in the act.
d) The amount that is paid through Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) is a meagre Rs.200 from the Central Government. This provision is intended to provide monetary support to senior citizens who are Below Poverty Line and States are expected to match the grant of Rs.200 with an equal amount. Here too, the range between States in the share they provide is from Rs.800 to none at all. While Delhi & Goa are contributing Rs.800,the states of Haryana and Maharashtra are contributing Rs.500 and Rs.400 respectively but in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh there is no contribution by the state at all. In Andhra Pradesh it is claimed that the amount is being spent on the disabled population.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Nodal Ministry which is expected to co-ordinate and monitor the progress of the schemes as well as the setting up of an autonomous National Council of Older Person would do well to have a thorough introspection and take quick and appropriate remedial action urgently and immediately.
The Senior Citizen Associations (AISSCON & FESSCOM) have over the years been lobbying with the Governments to highlight the non-implementation of provisions of the various Acts and Schemes. With the slow response forthcoming, it has been decided to observe a SOLIDARITY DAY ON 16TH AUGUST 2011 to make the respective State Governments aware that Older Persons in the country and state will not be taken for granted any longer. The Solidarity Day proceedings will be supported by 27 National, State and Local level organizations, NGO’s, Associations of Banks / Insurance companies, retired employees and will be observed over the entire country.
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences joins the Joint Action Committee in supporting this nationwide observation on 16th August 2011 as a National Solidarity Day and appeals to the media to highlight the gross injustice being meted out to Senior Citizens. Society as a whole shares equal responsibility for safeguarding the rights of older persons.
Centre for lifelong Learning
TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
25525000 / 25525682/ 2552 5686 / 25525692
