Chandigarh, Dec 2 (IANS) Senior citizens, including women, in rural areas of Haryana will have more productive time as they age gently.
The Haryana government Wednesday announced that it will soon launch a scheme for setting up 1,000 Senior Citizen Clubs for elderly people in rural areas across the state.

“This is being done so that senior citizens can lead their life in a meaningful manner,” Haryana’s Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said.

The state government has set aside Rs.1.6 crore (Rs.16 million) for setting up of these clubs.

Yadav said senior citizens constitute eight percent of Haryana’s population of nearly 2.5 crore people.

“The policy of the government is aimed at promoting the concept of productive and healthy aging and to facilitate social interaction and socio-psychological support structure besides providing a respectful place for senior citizens in the villages,” Yadav added.

He added that Rs.15,000 per club would be given for purchase of furniture for each club and Rs.50,000 would be given to each district for publicity of the scheme and for printing posters, pamphlets and banners.

The clubs would be set up in collaboration with the local panchayat (village council) in the villages and there could be more than one club in a village depending on the size and composition of the village.

Yadav said a one-time grant would be provided for the purchase of furniture and fixtures.