 bill no 90 of  2016 the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens (amendment) bill, 2016 by shrimati poonam mahajan, mp a bill to amend the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior56 of 2007amendment of section 22 in the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007, (hereinafter referred to as the principal act), in section 2, after clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—5'(aa) "fund" means the senior citizens welfare fund constituted under section23a;'amendment of section 83 in section 8 of the principal act, in clause (3), for the words "any claim for maintenance", the words "any claim for maintenance or welfare of senior citizens" shall be substitutedamendment of section 9104 in section 9 of the principal act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—"(2) the maximum maintenance allowance which may be ordered by such tribunal shall be awarded taking into consideration:—(i) the position and status of the parties; (ii) the reasonable wants of the claimant; and15(iii) the value of the claimant's property and any income derived from such property, or the claimant's own earning or earning from any other source"insertion of new chapter iiia5 after chapter iii of the principal act, the following chapter shall be inserted, namely:— "chapter iiia20 special provisions for senior citizens19a the state government shall provide the following facilities to senior citizens—facilities for the senior citizens(a) concessions—| (                                                                          | i   | ) in all modes of transportation including reservation of seats and       ||----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|| earmarking of seats in local public transport;                             |     |                                                                           || 25                                                                         |     |                                                                           || (                                                                          | ii  | ) in gas and telephone connections; and                                   || (                                                                          | iii | ) in entrance fees in leisure and entertainment facilities, art and       || cultural centres and places of tourist interests;                          |     |                                                                           || (                                                                          | b   | ) higher rate of interest to senior citizens on savings schemes in public || sector banks; and                                                          |     |                                                                           || 30                                                                         |     |                                                                           || (                                                                          | c   | ) ease of accessibility to senior citizens by—                            || (                                                                          | i   | ) removal of physical barriers to facilitate easy movement of senior      || citizens in all public buildings; and                                      |     |                                                                           || 35                                                                         |     |                                                                           || (                                                                          | ii  | ) modifications in designs of public transport vehicles for easy entry    || and exit and strict enforcement of traffic discipline at zebra crossing to |     |                                                                           || facilitate senior citizens                                                |     |                                                                           |senior citizen identity card19b (1) the central government shall designate an agency at the national level for issuing identity cards to the senior citizens(2) the identity card issued under sub-section (1) shall be utilized to avail the benefits of various central and state government schemes meant for senior citizens40(3) the identity card issued under sub-section (1), shall contain particulars ofthe senior citizens including blood group, allergies, ailment and medication and an emergency contact number"6 in section 20 of the principal act,—amendment of section 20(a) for clause (i), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—"(i) the government hospitals or hospitals funded fully or partially by the government earmark not less than ten per cent of the beds for senior citizens;"; and5(b) after clause (v), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:—"(vi) health insurance for senior citizens is provided at affordable premium: provided that for senior citizens living below poverty line, the premium shall be paid by the state government;10(vii) facility of trained nurses is provided for needy ailing seniorcitizens at their residences;(viii) counseling facilities and information on the care and treatmentof senior citizens having psychological problems be provided;15(ix) non-governmental organizations get grants, training andorientation of their personnel and various concessions to provide ambulance services, day care and health care to senior citizens in order to complement the efforts of the state"amendment of section 217 in section 21 of the principal act, after clause (iii), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:—20"(iv) voluntary organizations and associations of senior citizens are assisted toprovide helpline services, legal aid and other protective services;(v) senior citizens who have been abandoned are provided quality residentialaccommodation, medical facilities and all other concessions available under this act; and25(vi) police keeps a friendly vigil on senior citizens, either couple or single livingalone, and promote mechanism of interaction with neighborhood associations"8 after chapter v of the principal act, the following chapter shall be inserted, namely:—insertion of new chapter va "chapter va senior citizens welfare fund3023a (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a fund to be known as the senior citizens welfare fund for the welfare of senior citizens and there shall be credited—constitution of the senior citizens welfare fund(a) all sums received by way of grants, gifts, donations, benefactions, bequestsor transfer;(b) all sums received from the central government including grants-in-aids;35(c) all sums from such other sources as may be decided by the centralgovernment(2) all contributions to the fund shall be provided income tax relief to the extent of ten per cent40(3) the state governments shall also establish a similar fund for the welfare of thesenior citizens in the states concerned(4) the fund shall be utilized and managed in such manner as may be prescribedaccounts and audit of the fund23b (1) the central government shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts of the fund including the income and expenditure in such form as may be prescribed in consultation with the comptroller and auditor-general of india5(2) the accounts of the fund shall be audited by the comptroller and auditor-general of india at such intervals as may be specified by him and any expenditure incurred by him in connection with such audit shall be payable from the fund to the auditor-general of india10(3) the comptroller and auditor-general of india and any other person appointed by him in connection with the audit of the accounts of the fund shall have the same rights, privileges and authority in connection with such audit as the comptroller and auditor- general of india generally has in connection with the audit of the government account, and in particular, shall have the right to demand production of books of account, connected vouchers and other documents and papers and to inspect any of the offices of the fund15(4) the accounts of the fund as certified by the comptroller and auditor-general of india or any other person appointed by him in this behalf, together with the audit report thereon, shall be laid before each house of parliament by the central government" statement of objects and reasonsthe legislation for the maintenance and welfare of the parents and senior citizens came into place with the development of the provisions of article 41 read with entry 23 of the list iii concurrent list of schedule viii of the constitutionthe present maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007 has provisions with regard to maintenance of parents and senior citizens, establishment of old age homes, medical care for senior citizens and specifies offences for non-fulfillment of the above since this is the only act which takes care of the rights of senior citizens, it should be holistic in nature the need is that focus should not be only in providing maintenance to the elderly but also ensuring a qualitative and productive life for them in the private as well as in public spherethe bill, therefore, seeks to amend the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007 with a view to provide for—(a) special provisions for senior citizens including concessions in travel, gas and telephone connections and entrance fees in leisure and entertainment facilities;(b) issuance of identity card for senior citizens in order to avail the benefits of various central and state government schemes of assistance;(c) removal of physical barriers to facilitate easy movement of senior citizens in public buildings and public transport;(d) extension of the scope of the maintenance tribunal for speedy disposal of complaints not only with regard to maintenance but also relating to fraudulent dealings, cheating and other claims of the welfare of senior citizens;(e) incorporation of certain criterion for the determination of the maximum amount of maintenance for the senior citizens as well as his family;(f) engagement of the services of voluntary organizations and associations of senior citizens in providing helpline services, legal aid and other protective services to senior citizens;(g) constitution of senior citizens welfare fund for the welfare of senior citizens; (h) affordable health insurance, specialized trained nurses, counseling facilities to senior citizen and training, grants and concessions to non-governmental organizations to provide ambulatory services, day care and health care to complement the efforts of the state hence this bill president's recommendation under articles 117(1), 274(1) and 117(3) of the constitution————[copy of letter no 15—36(72)/2015-16/agii dated 20 march, 2016 from shri thaawarchand gehlot, minister of social justice and empowerment to the secretary general, lok sabha]the president, having been informed of the subject matter of the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens (amendment) bill, 2016 (amendment of section 2, etc) by shrimati poonam mahajan, mp, recommends to the house the introduction of the bill under articles 117(1) and 274(1) and consideration under article 117(3) of the constitution———— financial memorandumclause 5 of the bill provides for creating necessary infrastructure in public buildings and public transport for ensuring easy accessibility of senior citizens it also provides for a issuance of identity card to senior citizens clause 8 provides for the constitution of senior citizens welfare fund to which contribution from the central government shall be credited the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a sum of rupees hundred crore would be involved as recurring expenditure per annuma non-recurring expenditure to the tune of rupees fifty crore is also likely to be involved annexure extract from the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007 (act no 56 of 2007)|                                                                                           |     |     |                                                                                 |     |     |    ||--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|-----|| definitions                                                                               |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || 2                                                                                         | (    | a    | ) "children" includes son, daughter, grandson and grand-daughter but does not    |      |      |     || include a minor;                                                                           |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     ||                                                                                           |     |     |                                                                                 |     |     |    || summary                                                                                    |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || procedure in                                                                               |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || case of                                                                                    |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || inquiry                                                                                   |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || 8                                                                                         | (    | 3    | ) subject to any rule that may be made in this behalf, the tribunal may, for the |      |      |     || purpose of adjudicating and decided upon any claim for maintenance, choose one or more     |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || persons possessing special knowledge of any matter relevant to the inquiry to assist it in |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || holding the inquiry                                                                       |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     ||                                                                                           |     |     |                                                                                 |     |     |    || order for                                                                                  |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || maintenance                                                                               |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || 9                                                                                         | (    | 2    | ) the maximum maintenance allowance which may be ordered by such tribunal        |      |      |     || shall be such as may be prescribed by the state government which shall not exceed ten      |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     || thousand rupees per month                                                                 |      |      |                                                                                  |      |      |     ||                                                                                           |     |     |                                                                                 |     |     |    |20 the state government shall ensure that,—medical support for senior citizen(i) the government hospitals or hospitals funded fully or partially by the government shall provide beds for all senior citizens as far as possible;(ii) separate queues be arranged for senior citizens; (iii) facility for treatment of chronic, and degenerative diseases is expanded for senior citizens;(iv) research activities for chronic elderly diseases and ageing expanded; (v) there are earmarked facilities for geriatric patients in every district hospital duly headed by a medical officer with experience in geriatric care|     |     |     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|------|------|-----|21 the state government shall, take all measures to ensure that—(i) the provisions of this act are given wide publicity through public media including the television, radio and the print, at regular intervals;measures for publicity, awareness, etc, for welfare of senior citizen(ii) the central government and state government officers, including the police officers and the members of the judicial service, are given periodic sensitization and awareness training on the issues relating to this act;(iii) effective co-ordination between the service provided by the concerned ministries or department dealing with law, home affiars, health and welfare, to address the issues relating to the welfare of the senior citizens and periodical review of the same is conducted|     |     |     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|------|------|-----|———— a billto amend the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007————(shrimati poonam mahajan, mp)gmgipmrnd—3047ls(s3)—19-04-2016