Stalked and swindled: Land mafia scout for Mumbai's elderly at parks, banks

All they long for is a bit of care and attention in their sunset years As senior citizens are left unloved by their lsquobusyrsquo near and dear ones the land mafia enters the scene scouting for prey at parks hospitals and banks In the third part of the lsquoThe old and the vulnerablersquo series midday gets insights from activists and legal experts on protecting the rights of the elderlyResidents associations said cons are constantly on the lookout for vulnerable people ldquoPeople do not have time to talk to each other The young generation is busy on mobile phones even if they are at home and if the elderly people are alone they do not have anyone to talk to themrdquo said a neighbour of Marietta Fernandes whose roadfacing land has been grabbed by the land mafia at Chuim village KharThe land mafia has taken over Marietta Fernandesrsquos bungalow built on over 1800 sq ft at Chuim village in KharldquoThe moment elderly people are seen all alone in bank or hospital the land mafia inch closer to them by initiating discussion as if they are good Samaritans Then they approach them with food sweet discussion laughing session etc only to hide their nefarious plan to grab their assetsrdquo said Madhu Poplai of Pali Hill Residents AssociationLaw has safeguardsAdvocate Godfrey Pimenta said the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 has safeguards for senior citizens though its provisions are neither followed strictly nor are known to the public ldquoThe Act brings stepchildren adoptive children childreninlaw and legal guardians of minor children under the definition of children Under the Act the Maintenance Tribunal may direct children to pay a maximum of Rs 10000 per month as maintenance to their parentsrdquo he saidIn case of noncompliance the Tribunal may issue a warrant to erring children ldquoFailure to pay such fine may lead to imprisonment of up to one month or until the payment is maderdquo he saidGodfrey Pimenta advocateSharing his experience Pimenta said ldquoI had an opportunity to file one such complaint for a senior citizen before the Sub Divisional Officer against his son for nonmaintenance The senior citizen husband was thrown out of his home by wifeson After filing a complaint with the SDO the matter was settled amicably with the wifeson agreeing to pay Rs 6000 per monthrdquoPoor awarenessThe expresident of senior citizens alumni at Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work Charles DSa said there is little awareness of the Act at the grassroots level ldquoThe PM should put up his photographs on this said Act and banners should be put up at least at ten locations at village panchayat level and wards in every city post offices ration shops banks etc There should be nodal officers for implementation of this Act at least at Taluka level At present the district collector is the nodal officerrdquo he saidIn rural areas DSa said senior citizens cannot afford to take their grievances to the district headquarters DSa has been representing one of the cases of landgrabbing at Kalina that midday covered extensively in 2019 DSa said ldquoThose who are alone voiceless marginalised oppressed and suppressed are cheated by their acquaintances with the help of forged documents Also fake wills and fake sale deeds have become very common by the land mafiardquoDSa said registered NGOs ALM Advanced Locality Management trusts and senior citizens associations should be involved to help the elderly Also the Centre should come out with a white paper on the measures for the effective implementation of the Act he saidMohit Chaturvedi vicepresident of Cuffe Parade Residents AssociationldquoJudiciary should be sensitised to clear up litigations within 90 days as mentioned in the Consumer Protection Act A separate tribunal or a judge should be available to handle these fast track court cases of senior citizens Something like Children cases At every police station there should be separate 24hour duty officers to handle senior citizensrsquo complaints even they should be allowed to lodge a complaint on phone email SMS video call or any other modern technologyrdquo he saidAt the Goregaon East campus of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work they have formed a senior citizens association that holds training sessions on empowering Mumbairsquos elderly he said Activists said resident bodies at elite localities like Pali Hill Cuffe Parade Marine Drive and Kalina are more aware of the ways to safeguard the multicrore properties of senior citizens living alone Most seniors in these areas have got their names registered with the senior citizen cells of local police stations from where cops regularly visit themPrakash Jain president of Marine Drive Senior Citizens Association said ldquoThere is a rare case of land mafia usurping prime properties in Marine Drive because here people are more educated and aware of the law But I have learnt that this issue is rampant in suburbs including Khar Bandra and Mahim because the price of these properties has got multiplied manifoldrdquo said Jain ldquoThere are 300 buildings in my area where the number of senior citizens is around 3000 I have kept all of them safe and sound in their properties where the land mafias cannot think of making any ground to enterrdquo he JainMohit Chaturvedi vicepresident of Cuffe Parade Residents Association said ldquoWe have done an extensive campaign throughout Cuffe Parade with regards to the senior citizens who are staying alone We made a list of such vulnerable people and handed it over to the police station in a very confidential mannerrdquoChaturvedi said the chairmen and secretaries of housing societies in their area have been urged to alert the association if they need any help over senior citizens He said the Cuffe Parade police regularly visit the senior citizens Secretary of Pali Hill Residents Association Madhu Poplai said there are nearly 150 senior citizens in Pali Hill and all of them are being taken care of by the joint efforts of local police and the association ldquoIn case tiffin does not reach a senior citizen they call the police or our association We make sure that homecooked food is provided to them on timerdquoPolice speakTo help the elderly living alone in the city the Mumbai police have put in place a mechanism The senior citizens have been told to get in touch with the police if they are feeling scared unwell or if they are being troubled by anyone The senior citizens need to register themselves with the local police station by filling a simple form If required cops will visit them daily said S Chaitanya DCP and spokesperson of Mumbai policeThe IPS officer said ldquoWe are helping every senior citizen who is living alone We also share the number of the beat officer with senior citizens If they need any kind of help our officer will reach the spot immediately Every day Mumbai police receive many calls from senior citizens who are scared or need groceries or medicines Our officers will get them all the things that they need If anyone needs help they can call on 100rdquoA beat officer who did not wish to be identified said ldquoWe have a list of registered people who live alone and most of them senior citizens We get many calls from them and have to visit the spot on every call Sometimes we donrsquot get the time for a personal visit but we make sure to call them and inquire about their wellbeing We try our best to help them At times we even spend money from our pocket to help themrdquo