41 old-age homes run by NGOs have no permission, Telangana govt tells HC

HYDERABAD: In a startling revelation, the state government on Wednesday admitted that 41 old age homes being run by various NGOs in Greater Hyderabad are running without permission from the government and that its welfare officials have not been inspecting them.
State special counsel A Sanjeev Kumar, who also inspected some of the old age homes in tune with an earlier directive of the high court, said this to a bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy and assured the court that they would now streamline the functioning of these homes with proper mechanism, that includes a helpline, in place. The bench sought to know from him the action the state is now proposing to take against the unregistered and poorly maintained old age homes along with details of the departmental proceedings it is launching against its own welfare officials for dereliction of duties.
The bench which converted a letter written by GV Subrahmanyam, the member secretary of state legal services authority, into a PIL, appointed advocate Vasudha Nagaraj as amicus to study the conditions at these homes in one of the earlier hearings. She did undertake a study and reported that more than 100 old age homes run by NGOs that take money from the state but charge less from the poor are running in cramped shelters and the conditions prevailing there were horrible.
The bench then ordered the principal secretaries of women and child welfare and social welfare departments to study the situation and report to the court. Sanjeev informed the court about this study that revealed about unregistered old age homes. We are in the process of setting up new homes under the provisions of senior citizens maintenance Act, he said.
Out of the 130 old age homes, 41 are unregistered. The status of the remaining homes too was not disclosed properly. The bench rejected the state report saying it’s incomplete and sought a fresh report. Old age people are the most vulnerable section in our society, If the conditions in the present home are not conducive, shift them to a different home. Give them good food and medicines. Supply masks and sanitisers and ensure social distance, the bench said while posting the case to July 14.