KOLHAPUR: The Mangaon village panchayat in the district has passed a resolution to snap water connection of houses if it is found that elderly family members there are not properly cared for by their children.
The resolution was passed during the gram sabha of the village in Kolhapur’s Hatkanangale taluka on August 14. The Mangaon sarpanch has also written to the state government, asking it to pass a law to allow gram panchayats to snap water connections of households where elderly parents are treated poorly.
Legal experts, however, said the Indian jurisprudence does not authorise gram panchayats to snap water connections for any reason other than non-payment of water tax.
The Mangaon resolution also states that sons of elderly parents will have their names struck off the ancestral property. For new applications to claim the right to such properties, the sons would have to give a declaration on an affidavit stating that they would look after the upkeep of their elderly parents. If any case of neglect is found, then the gram panchayat would snap the water connection.
Raju Magdum, the sarpanch of Mangaon, said: “We had complaints from three elderly women who claimed that their sons – a teacher, a trader and peon – who had steady jobs and good earnings, were not taking them to the hospital for treatment of medical conditions like blood pressure, diabetes etc. We were shocked to learn that the trend of neglecting parents is growing in rural areas. This is frightening.”
Panchayat resolves to snap water lines if elderly parents abandoned
Mangaon sarpanch Raju Magdum added: “We tried to talk to the sons and convince them to take care of their parents. Though they said yes to us, they continued with the neglect. We have, therefore, decided to ensure that sons take care of their parents properly to face consequences.”
Magdum said he has written to the state government to pass the law to allow gram panchayats to take such strict measures. “The right of the heirs over the properties of their parents, who are neglected, should be taken away. Their names should be struck off the ration cards. We have decided to get a lawyer to represent the parents suffering poor treatment from their sons, and file applications before the sub-divisional officer who is the authority to fix alimony for the parents under law,” said Magdum.
Lawyers, meanwhile, claim the gram panchayat is not authorised to snap the water connections for any other reason than failure to pay the water tax.
Mahadevrao Adgule, a senior Kolhapur-based lawyer and former mayor of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, said, “The decisions of the gram sabha have no legal grounds. The law needs to be amended for that. Legally, the right of the heir staking claim to the ancestral property cannot be obstructed. I sense the gram sabha has taken high moral grounds while passing the decision.”
Mangaon village has a special place in India’s history. In 1920, for the first time Dr B R Ambedkar, then a 29-year-old fresh graduate from Columbia University, attended a conference of untouchables organised by Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mangaon gram panchayat had taken the initiative to impart education through cable television as the schools were shut down. Next, it banned the widow practice.
The resolution was passed during the gram sabha of the village in Kolhapur’s Hatkanangale taluka on August 14. The Mangaon sarpanch has also written to the state government, asking it to pass a law to allow gram panchayats to snap water connections of households where elderly parents are treated poorly.
Legal experts, however, said the Indian jurisprudence does not authorise gram panchayats to snap water connections for any reason other than non-payment of water tax.
The Mangaon resolution also states that sons of elderly parents will have their names struck off the ancestral property. For new applications to claim the right to such properties, the sons would have to give a declaration on an affidavit stating that they would look after the upkeep of their elderly parents. If any case of neglect is found, then the gram panchayat would snap the water connection.
Raju Magdum, the sarpanch of Mangaon, said: “We had complaints from three elderly women who claimed that their sons – a teacher, a trader and peon – who had steady jobs and good earnings, were not taking them to the hospital for treatment of medical conditions like blood pressure, diabetes etc. We were shocked to learn that the trend of neglecting parents is growing in rural areas. This is frightening.”
Panchayat resolves to snap water lines if elderly parents abandoned
Mangaon sarpanch Raju Magdum added: “We tried to talk to the sons and convince them to take care of their parents. Though they said yes to us, they continued with the neglect. We have, therefore, decided to ensure that sons take care of their parents properly to face consequences.”
Magdum said he has written to the state government to pass the law to allow gram panchayats to take such strict measures. “The right of the heirs over the properties of their parents, who are neglected, should be taken away. Their names should be struck off the ration cards. We have decided to get a lawyer to represent the parents suffering poor treatment from their sons, and file applications before the sub-divisional officer who is the authority to fix alimony for the parents under law,” said Magdum.
Lawyers, meanwhile, claim the gram panchayat is not authorised to snap the water connections for any other reason than failure to pay the water tax.
Mahadevrao Adgule, a senior Kolhapur-based lawyer and former mayor of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, said, “The decisions of the gram sabha have no legal grounds. The law needs to be amended for that. Legally, the right of the heir staking claim to the ancestral property cannot be obstructed. I sense the gram sabha has taken high moral grounds while passing the decision.”
Mangaon village has a special place in India’s history. In 1920, for the first time Dr B R Ambedkar, then a 29-year-old fresh graduate from Columbia University, attended a conference of untouchables organised by Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mangaon gram panchayat had taken the initiative to impart education through cable television as the schools were shut down. Next, it banned the widow practice.
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