ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education has stepped up efforts to get the approval of much-awaited 'Senior Citizens Bill from the Cabinet. The Ministry took almost a decade to finalise the bill and after extensive consultations with all the stakeholders, now the bill will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the Cabinet. Recently the vetting process of the bill was completed and now the Ministry is tying to put it before the Cabinet to get it approved, an official of the Ministry told TheNation here on Monday. He said that the Ministry had initiated the process some ten years ago but it could not finalise the bill due to red-tapism. The plan hits snags despite being a dire need of senior citizens, the official said, adding that the draft is now ready for approval. As per procedure, the Bill needs formal endorsement from the Cabinet after which it would be presented before the Parliament, first in the National Assembly and then in the Senate. Following the approval of Parliament, the Bill would be placed before the President to get final approval. The official informed that in the past, the Ministry had made three attempts for the approval of said Bill from the previous Cabinets but the dream for having special laws for senior citizens never came true. According to the official, the initiative of the Ministry was aimed at facilitating the senior citizens and establishing an institutional mechanism for provision of multifarious services for their well-being. Under the bill, a council would be established to devise and recommend plans and measures to be adopted for ensuring the protection and prosperity of senior citizens in the country. The official was of the view that once the Bill is implemented a number of initiatives would be taken to provide relief to senior citizens of the country that constitute about 9.32 million of Pakistan population. Under the Bill, a 60 years or above person would be considered a senior citizen and would be entitled to take advantages and facilities enshrined in the Bill.