To
Date: 23-7-14.
Respected
MPs of Mumbai,
Sub:
Looking after welfare of your 12 crore Elders.
1. In continuation of our
representation dt 21-7-14 from our Senior Citizens Committee, we desire to appraise
our MPs of our long pending requirements and seek their help in getting them at
an early date.
2. BJP Manifesto had promised welfare
of senior citizens, especially their security and health care, providing financial support, exploring ideas like additional
tax benefits and higher interest rates, investing in setting up and improving old-age homes,
harnessing their experience in the
National Interest, devising schemes and programs to engage the senior citizens
as volunteers / part time workers in various development programmes of the
government, in urban and rural areas, thereby not only helping in utilizing their time, but also it would be
an effective utilization of their experience and may add an additional source
of income for them.
3. NDA`s
first Budget has not done much to give important benefits promised to Senior
Citizens in Manifesto, especially for their security & Health Care and
giving them financial support like additional tax benefits and higher rates of
interest to meet the ever increasing and insurmountable inflation. Increasing income
tax exemption limit on par with general public instead of exempting them completely
from Income Tax, which tax is mainly for utilizing general services provided by
Government by citizens, as rightly brought out in New Tax Law or at least
raising the exemption limit up to 5 lakh for senior citizens up to 80 and
completely exempting 80(+) would have shown sincerity of BJP Manifesto in view
of prices of essential bare necessities going up and expenditure, they have to
incur on health care due to ageing and high cost of medical & nursing care, transportation
& support services needed at home.
4. We
request to convince F M to give us the following concessions during the
discussions in the Budget.
i)
Under Sec 80D, deduction of Rs 5000 is
allowed for preventive check up to general public including senior citizens.
This limit may kindly be increased considerably for senior citizens; as such
checkups, consultations with specialists and pathological checkups are very
costly and unavoidable for them. Such limit may be raised sufficiently high or
separately fixed per individual like self, spouse etc for senior citizens.
ii)
Senior Citizens, especially 80+ may be
treated as disabled for purpose of Sec 80 DD or similar provision may be made
for them.
iii)
Scope of Sec 80 DDD may please be
expanded to include very expensive diseases requiring lifelong medicines worth
Rs 3-5 thousand per month like Heart, Diabetes, IPF etc.
iv)
National Policy, 99 has
laid down that the
development of Health Insurance will be given high priority and various reliefs
and concessions will be given to make it affordable. IRDA under their letter
no. 3/IRDA/Health/SN/SRCC/09-10 dt 25-5-09 to Finance Ministry had recommended
to give subsidy of Rs 2000 or any amount that may be fixed by Finance Ministry
for every policy taken by Senior Citizen, relating the level of subsidy being
afforded to the Below Poverty Line population etc. This may please be done
early.
v)
We
request you to revise rate of monthly pension to BPL with provision to revise
it at intervals so that inflation does not deflate its real purchasing power.
Present contribution of Central Government for I.G.N.Pension at Rs 200 p.m. is
a mockery of human beings! It is necessary to give relief to government pensioners
by merging 50% DA with Pension and giving some interim relief to meet with
abnormal inflation
vi)
National Policy, 99 provides for higher rates of interest on savings
of senior citizens to assure them that payment at the end of stipulated periods
are attractive enough to take care of likely erosion in purchasing power.
Reserve Bank has authorized all Banks to formulate fixed deposit schemes for senior citizens, offering
higher & fixed rates of interest. State Bank of India
pays ¼% extra, which is nothing but mockery of Elders. We request you to get fix
proper higher rates and get all Banks pay them. Most of the Elders retired before 1996 have meager savings
due to meager settlement dues and are dependent on earnings from interest on
such meager savings. Our Elders have fought for Independence and have played
very important role in bringing present financial prosperity of the Country and
deserve special treatment for their wellbeing by getting them higher interest
on their savings, keeping in view increasing inflation.
vii)
Deduction of Rs 10000 under Sec TTA for
interest on Savings Bank Accounts may please be got allowed on all types of
Bank Interest like Fixed Deposit etc, as no one would keep big amounts in
Savings Bank giving meager rate of 3-4 %.
viii)
Please, get provided sufficient funds
for implementation of all the 4 Policies (NPOP, 99;
Maintenance Act, 2007; IPOP, 2008 and NPHCE, 2010) of the Government for
Welfare of Senior Citizens.
5.
Our
culture is to treat our Elders as Gods (Matru Devo Bhav etc).
A comprehensive National Policy on Older Persons was announced by the
Government on 13-2-99 but many important provisions thereof are not yet
implemented even after 15 full years, depriving your Elders of these beneficial
provisions. We request you to use your good offices with concerned ministries
to get the following at an early date:
A.
to provide separate Ministry/Department
for 12 crore Elders with separate self contained web site, keeping in view
rapidly increasing number of elders. You will be surprised to know that there
is no negotiating machinery for 12 crore Elders either at Centre or
State/district level, though provided in Policy, 99 and Maintenance Act, 2007.
Negotiation & Dissemination of Information to Elders is completely
neglected by all Ministries &
States. Separate Negotiating
Machinery by recognizing existing registered Federations of Senior Citizens
like SCOVA formed by Ministry of Pension and separate Web Site for Senior
Citizens is what we need immediately.
B.
Please, get total
implementation of Action Plan for protection of life & property of Senior
Citizens, as laid down in Maintenance & Welfare of Parents and Senior
Citizens Act, 2007. Though 7 years have passed, required actions are not taken
by States/UTs. Most of the Police Stations have not prepared up-to-date lists
of senior citizens living in their jurisdiction nor are visiting them once a
month, as laid down nor formed Volunteers Committee to ensure regular contact
of Senior Citizens of their area. Even State Councils & District Committees
of Senior Citizens for each district are not yet formed.
C.
As per Mandate
and Policy Statement of National Policy,
99, each Public Authority is required to take
effective steps to improve the quality of life of all Elders, strengthen their legitimate
place in society and help them to live their last spell of life with purpose,
dignity and peace. Timely Implementation
of Policies is one of the 10 Mantras given by our beloved PM. BJP Election
Manifesto had also committed
to the welfare of senior citizens. The first
and foremost need of the hour is to create respect for Elders in the Country. There
is lack of interest and enthusiasm in most of the Central and State/UT
ministries to implement the declared policies and large number of provisions of
these Policies have remained unimplemented, depriving 12 crore Senior Citizens
of declared benefits. We request our Mumbai MPs to bring out this to the notice
of our beloved P.M. and consider ways and means to get early implementation of
all Policies.
D.
A Review Committee for revising very
comprehensive NPOP, 99 was nominated on 28-1-10 and their recommendations given
on 30-3-11 are pending approval of Cabinet for more than 3 years!! This may be
got finalized and new Policy declared very early.
E.
We request you to provide Avenues of
Utilization of Elders. Even after 15
years of formation of the Policy for overall upliftment of Senior Citizens,
nothing is done for their proper utilization. Many Senior Citizens feel lonely
and require some avenues of passing their time usefully.
F.
Nodal Ministry has formed a very useful
scheme of Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP, 2008) for providing 16
schemes like Day Care Centres, Physiotherapy Centres etc, very useful to Elders
with provision of 90% grant for recurring and non-recurring expenditure but due
to lack of any action on part of Central & State Ministries in charge of
Municipalities and Panchayats, not a single Municipality or Panchayat has come
forward to provide even a single facility in the entire Country in 6 years!! We
shall be thankful, if necessary action is got taken by these sleeping
ministries under whom the Municipalities and Panchayats work.
G.
There are reports that senior citizens
are often abandoned in temples, hospitals and even on highways particularly
when they become very old and are unable to contribute to the family monetarily
or physically. In some hospitals it is a regular practice that such abandoned
seniors are dumped in deserted corners of the hospital to die. The MWPSC Act
has mandated that Old Age Homes will be built in each district with a minimum
capacity for 150 inmates each. This demand has been just ignored and requires
special efforts by our MPs.
Thanking You,
Yours Sincerely,
(M.V.Ruparelia)
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