The House of Representatives (HoR) has passed an amendment bill on the act related to the senior citizens with a provision allowing local bodies to take over ownership of properties of the senior citizens if their children, family members, relatives and claimants do not care for them.
The bill states that the local bodies will mobilize the properties taken over to care for the senior citizens.
The bill has delegated the authority of handing over the fixed and current properties of the senior citizens to the relatives or claimants who take care of them to the judicial committee headed by the deputy chief of the local body concerned.
“The local body will ask the children to deposit a certain amount of money determined on the basis of the financial income or status of the kids or claimants in the bank account of the senior citizen if there is problem in livelihood of the senior citizen,” the bill reads. “But it will be the responsibility of the local body to fulfill the basic needs of the senior citizen if the person concerned does not have the determined minimum income.”
The bill also authorizes the ward chairman concerned to instruct the children to deposit money in the bank account of parents until the local body takes decision on the matter. The money has to be deposited even if the children stay together with the parents or live separately, and the details of the deposited amount submitted annually to the local body.
The amount, however, will not have to be deposited if the income of the senior citizens owing to pensions, gratuity or other sources of income is higher than the determined minimum amount.
The bill authorizes even the head of the office where the children work to instruct to deposit the determined minimum amount in the bank account of parents. The savings after expenses incurred on care of the parents can be used in last rites after their death. “The family members can use the amount remaining after performing the last rites and other rituals.”
The local bodies, however, cannot force the children who have not been provided education and properly raised to care for their parents.
The local bodies and provincial government will have to operate old-age homes once the new law comes into effect.
This bill was passed by the National Assembly on March 10, 2019. It will come into effect if the National assembly endorses the amendment passed by the HoR, and the president ratifies it.
