Amount may be raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 a month; tribunals also proposed to get more teeth The Union government is planning to hike the maintenance amount payable to parents and senior citizens under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. The amount could triple to Rs 30,000 a month from the existing Rs 10,000. The Act provides for financial support to seniors by their children or relatives who are neglecting them or have abandoned them. While increasing the amount was due as the decade-old regulations have not kept pace with inflation, experts say that the government should also increase the powers of tribunals and focus on implementation to provide the required financial support to seniors in their golden years. “To be fair to seniors and their relatives, the government should keep the maintenance amount as a percentage of the income of the children or relative, rather than a fixed sum. Medical treatment, for example, can sometimes burn a hole in