As per the latest SIR electoral roll, senior citizens account for 23.48% of the total 2.69 crore voters
Kochi: Elderly couple Gopalan and Janaki (names changed) thought their struggles had finally ended when they moved into the new two-storey home of their son, after living for 37 years in a rented house. Instead, they now stare at returning to ‘rented’ life due to apathy, which has left the two devastated. The couple ran a modest restaurant for decades, prioritising the education of their son and daughter over building a house of their own. The son secured a state govt job in the police force. Even then, they insisted that he not spend any money on household expenses but save it to build a new house. After the son’s marriage, his wife objected to the presence of the elderly couple in the house and attempted suicide more than once. With the situation deteriorating, the parents approached the maintenance tribunal under the Fort Kochi sub-collector, seeking permission to continue living in the house. During a hearing, the woman threatened to die by suicide if her in-laws were allowed to stay in the house. Concerned about her mental state, the sub-collector ordered the elderly couple to move into a rented house and ordered the son to pay for their expenses.
He described the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, enacted by the Manmohan Singh govt, as a significant step towards alleviating elderly people’s suffering. As per the latest Special Intensive Revision electoral roll, senior citizens account for 23.48% of the total 2.69 crore voters, underscoring Keralam’s rapidly ageing population. We’ve developed a questionnaire covering 50 indicators, including their social and economic conditions, vulnerabilities, skills and gaps in existing welfare schemes,” said the department’s director Arun S Nair. “Around 2,000 daycare centres (Pakal Veedu) came up across the state by 2016-17. Recently, a 72-year-old woman living alone in Ernakulam lost Rs 35 lakh to an unregistered old-age home, which she discovered on social media.
Healthcare facilities that help maintain maximum physical, mental and social well-being must be accessible to senior citizens,” says the bill, which also calls for penalisation of those who abandon elderly parents. The proposed legislation would extend this protection by addressing a wider range of grievances and helping senior citizens live with dignity, he said. Former additional state public prosecutor P Narayanan said implementing the provisions of the proposed legislation was as important as enacting it. Expanding the scope of legal protection to address their wider concerns, including their treatment in caregiving institutions, was a positive step, he said. “Large-scale migration of younger people and evolving lifestyles have altered the way society views and cares for the elderly, but the administrative system has not kept pace with changing social realities,” said a senior official of an NGO working in the sector. Every intervention should be based on a proper assessment of their requirements and how it can improve their quality of life,” the official said. Six such unregistered homes were identified in Ernakulam district in just one month following complaints from victims and their families,” said district social justice officer John Joshy K.
The bill envisages that as long as a senior citizen is able, they should live in their own home and to make possible a healthy and energetic old age within the home, family members, relatives or legal heirs must provide them with adequate care. “Institutional care should be the last resort. Director general of prosecution T Asaf Alipraised the proposed legislation from a broader perspective. The formation of district-level units, along with the monitoring of caregiving institutions and penal provisions for violations, would strengthen the protection available to the elderly, he added. He noted that the existing law on the maintenance of senior citizens provided a forum for elderly people to raise their grievances. It reflects the need to urgently create stronger social security systems, age-friendly infrastructure and a healthcare sector equipped to meet the evolving needs of the population. Beyond the electoral rolls, the state govt lacks comprehensive data on the living conditions, vulnerabilities and specific needs of senior citizens in Keralam. Against this backdrop, the newly established department of senior citizens has initiated steps to conduct a baseline survey to assess their circumstances and identify gaps in existing welfare schemes. “The baseline survey is not merely an enumeration of elderly people in Kerala. Training of enumerators by Centre for Management Development is under way. NGOs working with senior citizens also argue that the govt’s biggest challenge lies not in announcing welfare schemes or constructing facilities, but in ensuring that the initiatives and their implementation meet the real needs of the elderly. They say the disconnect between policy formulation and implementation has resulted in much infrastructure remaining underutilised. But there were no takers for many as their design and facilities failed to match the needs of the intended beneficiaries. Programmes are being implemented without adequate planning or research into what elderly people need. The increasing demand for paid old-age homes is leading to the mushrooming of unscrupulous operators running unregistered facilities with inadequate care. With her children living abroad, she entrusted the operators with her bank documents and moved into the facility, only to be put in a small room without the promised amenities. A well-wisher later intervened following the intimation by her daughters and shifted her to another home. As the operators refused to return her money, the family filed a complaint with the social justice department. “Fraud involving crores of rupees is taking place in the name of paid old-age homes, with many unrecognised facilities operating from houses and small buildings. The district has the highest number of old-age homes in the state. Narayanan stressed the need to address instances of cheating and abuse of elderly people by such institutions and ensure that those responsible are penalised promptly. He also called for a proper monitoring mechanism to oversee the functioning of caregiving institutions and ensure transparency and accountability in their operations. Kerala’s ageing population is also placing an increased burden on the healthcare system, with senior citizens commonly facing dementia, depression, social isolation, multiple chronic illnesses and frailty. Health experts point out that many of these conditions can be prevented, managed or delayed through early diagnosis, timely intervention and sustained social engagement.
Under the Act, senior citizens can seek maintenance by filing applications before the revenue divisional officer, with the district collector serving as appellate authority.
To address these and uphold the dignity of the burgeoning elderly population in Keralam, the state govt last week tabled the Keralam Senior Citizens (Care and Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026, in the assembly.
Many are reluctant to spend long hours at hospitals and may not return for subsequent consultations,” said K S Shaji, director of the state resource centre for older people at Kerala University of Health Sciences. “Training caregivers to provide basic and secondary levels of care would help elderly patients receive timely treatment and follow-up support at home,” Shaji said, stressing the need to maximise the use of telemedicine for follow-up consultations, drawing on the extensive experience gained during Covid pandemic. (With inputs from Abhilash R) You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news. The case underscores the difficulty faced by senior citizens, raising concerns about their dignity, security and the right to lead a peaceful life. The challenges they face range from social isolation, abandonment and psychological distress to emotional, financial and physical hardships. “The fragmentation of healthcare services makes hospital visits particularly difficult for elderly people. Shaji called for integrating primary and secondary healthcare for senior citizens with home-based care to reduce the need for frequent hospital visits. Download the TOI App.