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| Young CM and Old Citizens | | |
Vikram Gaur
The state of J&K is lucky to have the youngest CM to head the most problematic state in the country. The youthful and dynamic CM has many problems to face. Most of these problems are a legacy of the past but still since he has taken over the responsibility the problems have to be solved. In this context the problems faced by the senior Citizens of the state is one of the many problems that the CM has to tackle.
In view of the ever increasing number of Senior Citizens (S.C.) almost touching 10% of the total population in the country various Associations for Welfare of Senior Citizens approached the state government during the Governor’s Rule for constituting a State Level Advisory Council for the welfare of senior citizens for mitigating the problems being faced by the elderly people. Some of the points highlighted were as under:-
• Framing of state policy on older persons and maintenance of parents/elders on the basis of National Policy on older persons (NPOP) adopted in Jan. 1999 as also adoption of maintenance of Parents/Elders Act 2007 of govt. of India. More than 20-states in the country have already the above Acts applicable in their states and have one in for enforcing the laws in favor of the S.C. But unfortunately our state is yet to adopt these Acts passed by the Parliament.
• Separate arrangement of Health Care of Elderly people in government run Institutions. As the medical institutions in the state like Medical College hospitals and the hospitals under the Directorate of Health are tremendously over crowded, the senior citizens who because of their age have more health problems and cannot physically bear the strain of waiting in long queue, a separate arrangements need to be made for S.C. so that they are given immediate attention. At least 10% beds are reserved for the senior Citizens in Hospitals. Health Insurance cover for the S.Cs with affordable premium may be urgently sanctioned. For S.Cs who fall below the poverty line , the premium should be paid by the government.
• Special focus on vulnerable groups e.g. disabled, destitute, infirm and widows etc. The vulnerable section of the old age group has to be given facilities under the various schemes as listed in the government of India Acts under the Social welfare Schemes for which separate funds have been earmarked for states.
• Provision of shelters/day-care centers. A number of social welfare Schemes for S.C. are available/enlisted by the GOI under funds are available for the states to provide shelters and day-care facilities for the old people, only The Social Welfare Directorate has to take initiative to rope in NGOs working in the field to utilize these available funds for the benefit of the S.Cs.
• Making public services user friendly for S. C. The public services like hospitals, banks, electricity, PHE, Public Distribution etc and other government departments dealing with public should be made more user friendly for rendering service to the S.Cs.
• Encouraging NGOs in the field. There are a number of NGOs working in the field of providing scour to the S.Cs. The Government on its part should encourage these organizations and remain in touch with them to create awareness about the latest relief measures made available by the government for S.Cs.
• Utilizing the skills and experience of S.C. Most of the senior citizens who have retired from service from various government departments, institutions, professional services of any kind (including medical and engineering), farmers, industrialists, businessmen etc have vast experience in their respective professions and have keen desire to render voluntary service to the government. The government should invite such willing senior citizens of competence and utilize their services for formulation, evalution, monitoring review etc of all development projects.
• Formation of Trust for the Health Care of the elders in the state. The state government should initiate and help formation of a Trust for welfare of persons suffering from Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and multiple Disabilities on the pattern of National Trust by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for the benefit of senior citizens.
• Allocation of working accommodation for office of the NGOs. The NGOs working in the field for welfare of Senior Citizens are greatly handicapped and are facing hardship in carrying out their day to day work in absence of proper office accommodation. A proposal for allocation of surplus accommodation in the PWD Guest House in Gandhi Nagar presently occupied by the Institution of Engineers can be considered by the Chief Minister as the Institution of Engineers Have now built an independent building for their use in Chhani Himat Housing Colony.
• Safety and Security of the S.C. Majority of Senior Citizens whose Children are working outside the state are living alone. And because of their old age they are vulnerable to harassment and have risk to their life and property. A special agency/help line has to be created to help the S.Cs at the time of any emergency.
• Utilization of Govt. accommodation such as tourist huts and other such facilities on the pattern of Youth Hostels on discounted rates need to be made available to the S.Cs.
Immediately after the proposal for formation of the State Level Advisory Council was mooted by the Secretary/Comr Social Welfare, His Excellency the Governor Sh.N.N.Vohra was kind and considerate enough to give his immediate approval. Consequently, a government order was issued constituting a State Level Advisory Council to address the problems of the S.C. vide Govt. Order No. 1428-GAD of 2008 dated 29.10.2008.
The Council is headed by His Excellency the Governor with Chief Secretary, Advisory Sectaries of Planning and Development, Social Welfare, Health and Medical education, Directors Jammu and Kashmir as members. Five Senior Citizens each from Jammu and Kashmir were also included as members. His Excellency was keen to hold the meeting of this council before the end of Nov.2008. But the elections to the state Assembly were announced the meeting could not materialize.
The NGOs requested the government for immediate convening of the meeting of the Council but by then the new government had taken over under the stewardship of the Young Chief Minister and the Governor’s office sent the case to the CM’s office for further action. And since The Chief Minister holds the portfolio for Social Welfare and has to decide as to who will head the Council in place of the His Excellency the Governor the file is pending in the CM’s office. The Senior Citizens hope and trust the Young CM will have a soft corner for seniors and immediately convene the first meeting of the Advisory Council to discuss the problems detailed above.
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Author is President, Association for Welfare of Senior Citizens
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