The Telangana government on Saturday introduced legislation in the state assembly seeking to provide financial support to elderly parents, who are being neglected by their working children, people familiar with the matter said.
Minister of State for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Senior Citizens’ Care, Adluri Laxman Kumar, introduced the Telangana Employees Accountability and Control of Parental Support Bill, 2026 in the Assembly. The draft law is expected to be put forward for discussion and approval on Monday.
According to Laxman Kumar, the bill imposes a discount of 15% or $10,000, whichever is less, from the salaries of employees who neglected their parents, are deposited directly into the parents’ accounts.
According to the bill, besides employees working in the government and private sectors, this will also apply to representatives of the public, including MLAs, MLCs, corporations, councilors, sarpanches and others.
Under this new law, the government will notify the District Collector as the designated authority in each district for the purpose of adjudicating and deciding the applications submitted by the parents. It will also constitute a committee on senior citizens, which will act as the appellate authority.
The minister said that the government also plans to form a state-level monitoring body to closely monitor the implementation of the provisions of this law.
“If any employee neglects parental care, the dependent parents can submit a written request to the competent authority to request the division of the employee’s monthly salary,” the minister said in his introduction to the draft law.
This prorated amount will be paid directly to the parents each month by the appointing authority from the employee’s salary. “The parents must, prima facie, prove that they do not have sufficient source of income to maintain their livelihood in a dignified manner and they need financial support from the employee,” Laxman Kumar added.
On receipt of the application from the parents, the designated authority must examine the application and dispose of it within 60 days. If the application is not acted upon within this period, parents can appeal to the Senior Citizens Committee within 45 days. The draft law stipulates that the committee shall decide on the appeal within a period not exceeding 60 days.
She said parents could at any stage withdraw the application, appeal or request that a salary split order be set aside, either before or during the hearing. “This may be done after the issuance of this order or during the continuation of payment of the allotted salary, by submitting an application to the designated authority of the Senior Citizens Committee,” the draft law reads.
In the event of the death of a dependent parent, the surviving parent can submit an application requesting that the deducted allocated amount be transferred to his or her bank account.
In case of death of both dependent parents, the employee concerned can submit an application to the designated authority or Senior Citizens Committee requesting cancellation of deduction of the allocated amount from salary due to death of dependent parents.
Explaining the objectives and reasons for the draft law, the minister said that the government expressed concern about the increasing cases of neglect and lack of support for elderly parents. “With the promotion of traditional family values in the modern social and economic context, it is necessary to promote enforceable moral responsibility in society,” he said.
Laxman Kumar pointed out that Article 21 of the Constitution of India affirms that the right to life includes various aspects, including the right to live in dignity. He added: “Parents of employees are an integral part of the Indian family system, therefore it is appropriate to provide enforceable ethics through certain standards among these employees, who neglect their parents and to ensure that every employee plays the role of a role model in the society.”
