HC Notice to Government on Fewer Old-Age Homes in Telangana

Hyderabad: A division bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti issued notice to the Chief Secretary, principal secretary to the department of women, children, disabled and senior citizens, directing them to give reasons within four weeks for not setting up a sufficient number of old age homes across the state.

The bench was adjudicating a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the lack of old age homes, due to which aged persons were deprived of a dignified life.

According to Section 19 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, the state government should establish at least one old age home in each district to accommodate a minimum of 150 indigent senior citizens. The state, however, failed to set up an adequate number of old age homes in the state and minimum basic facilities are also not provided in the existing old-age homes.