Mohali Deputy Mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi sends contempt notice to Punjab, Haryana Govts over failure to build old-age homes

In 2019, the Punjab Government informed the court that it would construct 21 old-age homes by 2022, while the Haryana Government, through an affidavit, assured the court that it would build homes in all districts by 2024.

However, Kuljit Singh Bedi alleged in the notice that neither state government had acted as per the commitments given to the court, or submitted the required reports to the court.

Kuljit Singh Bedi said that although the Punjab Government issued a notification in 2021 inviting applications from NGOs to run old-age homes, the responsibility of constructing these homes lies solely with the state government under the law. Pushing this responsibility onto NGOs amounts to a violation of court directions, the notice said.

Bedi said that in the case of Mohali district, approval was granted on September 29, 2023, to allocate 2.92 acres of land in Sector 78 free of cost for an old-age home and that the social security department accepted the proposal on November 8, 2023. Despite this, the land has still not been transferred. The department issued reminders on December 10, 2024, and February 24, 2025, but no progress was made.

According to the notice, only three districts of Punjab—Hoshiarpur, Barnala, and Mansa—have seen some level of work, while no progress has been made in 22 districts. The Haryana Government has also not submitted any status report, even after missing the 2024 deadline.

The notice gives both state governments and the Central Government four weeks to submit compliance reports as per court orders, immediately transfer the land in Mohali, and begin constructing old-age homes in every district. Failure to do so will result in proceedings under the Contempt of Court Act 1971, it said.