Punjab Government has decided to provide grant-in-aid to the eligible NGOs for establishing or running the ‘Senior Citizen Homes’ in 16 districts of the State.
“Fulfilling its commitment for the well being of all sections of the society, the State Government has made arrangements to establish and run Senior Citizen Homes in all the districts under ‘The Punjab Management of Senior Citizen Homes for Elderly Persons Scheme 2019’,” said the state Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Sunday.
She said that the Department was successfully running Senior Citizens Home in Hoshiarpur district, while Government’s Senior Citizen Homes are under construction in Mansa and Barnala districts.
“In the remaining 19 districts, it has also been decided to provide grant-in-aid for establishing or running senior citizen homes in collaboration with local NGOs to provide shelter, food, clothing, health facilities and other essential necessities to the aged people,” she added.
The Minister said that a grant-in-aid worth Rs 3.84 crore was released to such NGOs in Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Ferozepur districts for the senior citizen homes during the previous financial year 2020-21. Now in this financial year, applications have been invited from NGOs for grant-in-aid for opening or running old age homes in the remaining 16 districts — Bathinda, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Moga, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Patiala, Rup Nagar, SAS Nagar, Sangrur, and Tarn Taran.
Referring to the conditions for providing grants to such NGOs, the Minister said that the institution must have its own building as well as it should be registered under ‘The Punjab Management of Senior Citizen Homes for Elderly Persons Scheme 2019’.
She said that registered NGOs, Voluntary Organizations, Trusts, or Red Cross Societies which are running Senior Citizen Homes or organizations which can establish such old age homes for at least 25 senior citizens or 50, 100, 150 senior citizens in 12 months, subordinate and autonomous institutions of the state government, panchayati raj or local government department, Government approved educational institutions, or charitable hospitals or nursing homes or registered youth institutions will be eligible to apply for the grant.