The Hindu : National : If you neglect parents, you may lose property

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Friday, Sep 09, 2005

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National

If you neglect parents, you may lose property

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: : While the Centre does not intend imposing stringent penalty on children for not looking after their aged parents, the Older Persons (Maintenance, Care and Protection) Bill, 2005 does give elders an option of claiming back transferred property if their wards refuse or fail to address their needs.

"We would have never thought that such a law would be required, but society and social values are changing so fast that it is inevitable now. However, the Government does not want to create any bad blood between parents and their children by providing for stringent punishment," Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar said here on Thursday. Since the Government is interfering in a family, it would like to adopt a reconciliatory approach and handle the issue sensitively and cautiously, she added.

Comments sought

The Ministry has received comments from 12 States welcoming the draft legislation in principle. The Ministry also sought comments from leading non-government organisations, experts and other stakeholders on it. Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have sent in their response. "The bill would be tabled in Parliament as soon as we receive comments from all the States and stakeholders," Ms. Kumar said.

With close to eight crore older persons in the country, the proposed legislation's objectives include provision of need-based maintenance, ensuring minimum level of financial security, provision for adequate old-age pension to meet their basic needs, setting up of a well-equipped geriatric ward in each district hospital and at least one old-age home in each district. It also seeks to provide mechanism of protection to life and property of older persons. The main objective of the `maintenance' clause is to create an enabling mechanism for the older persons to claim need-based maintenance from their children, including adopted and stepchildren and grandchildren.

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