Kerala will introduce a bill to provide legal guarantees for senior citizens during the current legislative assembly session, while the state government will run a three-month file clearance drive targeting 2.76 lakh pending e-files across departments.
The announcements were made at a post-cabinet briefing on Friday by chief minister V D Satheesan, according to the Times of India. The file clearance exercise, named Janasparsham, will run from October 15 to December 31 and will involve coordination among government departments.
Satheesan said the proposed legislation would create a department dedicated to the welfare of senior citizens. The government intends to pass the bill during the ongoing assembly session and described the move as the first such initiative in the country.
The proposed framework will include collecting data on senior citizens and measures to ensure that they are not left alone, according to the briefing. The government also plans to establish community groups modelled on Kudumbashree to provide care and support.
The proposal places senior citizens within a formal administrative framework rather than treating their welfare only as a service or social-support issue. The details of the bill, including the proposed department’s powers, funding arrangements, eligibility provisions and implementation responsibilities, were not provided in the report.
The Janasparsham drive will focus on pending files across government departments. Satheesan said, “Every file has a life problem associated with it,” linking administrative delays to the individual issues behind applications and cases awaiting decisions.
The government said 568 of 588 projects under its 100-day action programme had been completed, representing 96.6% of the target. Of the programme’s 1,737 project components, 1,681 had been completed. The remaining 20 projects, involving 57 components, were described as being in progress, with each recording more than 90% progress, according to government-released figures.
Forty-two departments had completed all their targeted projects. The electronics and information technology department had completed 39 of 42 projects and 112 of 117 components, recording 99% progress. The public works department had completed 29 of 30 projects, also recording 99% progress.
The local self-government department recorded 98% progress after completing 19 of 20 projects and 66 of 69 components. The AYUSH department completed 10 of 11 projects and 32 of 37 components, recording 96% progress. The water resources department reported 96% progress after completing 21 of 23 projects and 54 of 57 components.
The senior citizens’ rights bill is expected to be presented during the current assembly session. The Janasparsham file clearance exercise is scheduled to begin on October 15 and continue until December 31.
