NALGONDA: After being left to fend for themselves despite signing away their assets, a growing number of senior citizens in Nalgonda are turning to the law and finding relief. The district administration has restored 23 acres of land to elderly parents whose children failed to care for them after taking over their property.
Invoking the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, the administration has seen a steady rise in complaints from elderly parents, especially from rural areas. Many have approached offices of the revenue divisional officer and the district collector seeking the return of assets from children who abandoned them or denied basic maintenance.
Since District Collector Ila Tripathi assumed charge, enforcement of the Act has gained pace through weekly reviews and quicker grievance redressal. Complaints range from financial neglect and fraudulent property registrations to forcible eviction and abandonment. While several cases are resolved through mediation at the RDO or senior citizens’ welfare department level, matters involving property restoration are decided by the collector.
In 2025 alone, orders were issued to re-register 23 acres in favour of elderly parents across seven families. In one case, an elderly woman from Aregudem in Chityala mandal regained her two acres after her sons neglected her following their father’s death.
In another instance from Nethapuram village in Sagar Tirumalagiri mandal, parents who had divided three acres among their sons reclaimed one acre from the eldest, who refused to maintain them even as his younger brother deposited `20 lakh for their care.
In yet another case, a man who lived with his daughter for a decade after being neglected by his three sons recovered all three acres he had gifted them. Similar interventions were reported from Hazargudem in Anumula mandal, Miryalaguda, Cherlapally in Nalgonda municipality and Kallakunta in Munugode mandal.
Officials said 94 petitions were filed by senior citizens in the Nalgonda division this year. Of these, 55 cases have been resolved, while 39 are still under process.