The Issue

My name is Smt. Balveer Kaur. I am a 70-year-old widow from Punjab and the only child of my late father, a retired Colonel in the Indian Army who served India with honour.

My father devoted his life to serving our country. I devoted my life to caring for him. He spent his final days in my care and passed away peacefully in my arms, believing his only daughter would always have the home he legally left her.

That home was not just property.

It was my father’s last blessing.

It was his promise that even after he was gone, his widowed daughter would always have a roof over her head.

Today, I fear that promise has been broken.

According to me, during the implementation of the “Mera Ghar Mere Naam” scheme, changes affecting my parental home were made without my genuine knowledge or consent. I believe proper verification of the lawful owner’s identity and informed consent was not carried out.

If this can happen to me, it can happen to any parent, any son, any daughter, any only child and any NRI family.

As an NRI family, we feel helpless. Those who live in the village are physically present and often have local support, while elderly parents and families living overseas are left to fight alone. According to me, we have been threatened that if we return to Punjab to protect our lawful property, false criminal cases—including allegations of dowry harassment, domestic violence and rape—will be filed against us to keep us trapped in legal proceedings. We have been told we would be jailed and prevented from returning overseas.

No mother should have to fear that her children cannot safely come home simply because they want to stand beside her.

This petition is not only for me.

It is for every elderly parent who fears losing the home built through a lifetime of sacrifice.

It is for every father who believes the home he leaves to his children will remain protected.

It is for every son and daughter living overseas who still call Punjab home.

Every parent has the fundamental right to decide the future of their own home and lifetime legacy. While the lawful owner is alive, their home should never be recorded in the name of a son, daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandchildren, or any other person without the lawful owner’s free, informed, and voluntary consent. That decision belongs to the lawful owner alone—not to villagers, a Panchayat, a Sarpanch,,a lambardar,government officials,a politicians or to whoever happened to be present during a survey. Many villagers have told us they were informed that during the Mera Ghar Mera Naam survey, the name of the person present with an Aadhaar card would be recorded. If this is true, who will protect elderly parents who cannot read or write, who do not understand official procedures, or who simply trust others? A home is more than land—it is a lifetime’s legacy. No parent should ever lose the right to decide who will inherit the home they spent a lifetime building.

We respectfully ask the Punjab Government to:

Strengthen safeguards under the “Mera Ghar Mere Naam” scheme.
Require strict verification and informed consent before any property ownership is changed.
Establish a fast-track system for NRI property disputes.
Provide stronger protection for elderly parents and widows.
Ensure that allegations of fraud, coercion and intimidation connected with property disputes are investigated fairly and promptly.
Allow NRIs to participate securely in property proceedings from overseas through digital verification.
A home is not just bricks and walls.

It is a parent’s lifetime of sacrifice.

Please help protect every parent’s home.

“A father’s final blessing should never become his daughter’s greatest heartbreak. Stand with us. Sign this petition.”