Senior citizens feel neglected and betrayed
Already reeling under inflation, which has wiped out much
of their savings, senior citizens feel let down by the budget. The sense of
betrayal is sharper as it was the first time the Union government had solicited
the views of senior citizens before the budget.
“We were unpleasantly surprised to see how the finance
minister mentioned senior citizens only once. He had been very positive towards
our recommendations and we were actually expecting a tax exemption of over five
lakh rupees,” said Sailesh Mishra, founder and president of the Silver Innings
foundation that has been fighting for the cause of senior citizens for several
years.
“We had also asked the government to provide Rs 2,000 per
month for those senior citizens who live below the poverty line. The elderly
have always been this neglected though we consist of 23 per cent of the
population,” he added.
The rise in inflation has been making it increasingly
difficult for the elderly in India. “The finance minister mostly concentrated
on the youth, women and children. Only Rs 150 crore were allocated for senior
citizens’ healthcare but now we want to know how will they implement the
national policy for senior citizens, 2011 without any funds. They have only
upgraded it since 2011,” informed Mishra.
Echoing his thoughts, Madhukar Kulkarni, vice-president
of the All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation said, “This year’s budget was
very disappointing for senior citizens. For the elderly who are forced to
travel in public transport every day, we demanded a reserved senior citizens’
compartment which was not even mentioned in the railway budget.”
“Another disappointing aspect of the budget is that the
FM didn’t even bring up pension for below the poverty line senior citizens.
Their condition is deplorable even in cities across the city and to make
matters worse, they also have to deal with inflation and rely on others to make
ends meet,” added Kulkarni further stating that the budget didn’t have anything
specific mentioned on provisions for senior citizens. Also absolutely no
changes were made in the income tax slabs, asserted Kulkarni.
Territory head of HelpAge India, Prakash Borgaonkar said,
“The only positive sign in the budget for senior citizens is that geriatric
wards will be set-up in hospitals for which we had been demanding for all these
years. But that isn’t enough as hospitals will also require trained staff to
handle the elderly with care.” Agreeing with them, a former media professional
Rajeev Nambiar said that the government has yet not made any provisions for
senior citizens.
“As far as the present budget is concerned it is well
framed within the present circumstances. However, the FM should curtail
unwanted expenses of ministers and his staff on facilities such as travelling,
lodging, etc and rather concentrate on providing social security for senior
citizens,” he said.
Hiren Mehta, the programme head of Harmony foundation
said that though in the past several states across India had announced budget
provisions for senior citizens, there was no implementation at the grass root
level. “The national policy for senior citizens that was put forward in the
year 1991 was reviewed only last year and yet not mentioned in the budget. We
are yet unable to understand why the government doesn’t give enough attention
to the elderly who are struggling to live without any provisions or tax
exemptions.
rpf application status 2018
ReplyDeletenielit result