PHHC Stays Fund Diversion Under Welfare Scheme; PLPA Land Excluded From Policy

July

2026

The Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the diversion of funds from a construction workers’ welfare corpus to other schemes, including the flagship Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana (welfare scheme for women) that promises a cash dole to nearly 10M women of Panjab. Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the state government had earmarked USD 9.69B for the scheme. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by Dr. Ambedkar Workers Union, a Patiala-based body, had sought stay on fund diversion and further demanded that the diverted money be transferred back to the corpus. The petition claims that on 16 Mar, the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board was re-constituted by the Labour Department through the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996. This board took the decision to divert funds from the Board to other schemes, including the women scheme. However, the board’s decision was illegal as it has been constituted under the law that stands repealed and merged with the Code on Social Security Act 2020 that came into effect in November 2025. The PIL further alleged that the board has not only approved transfer of funds for the scheme in question, but in January 2026, reduced the amount of monthly pension payable to the registered construction workers, the primary beneficiaries of the fund. Meanwhile, youth protesting under the banner of the Berozgar Sanyukt Morcha Punjab (United Unemployed Front) clashed with police in Sangrur on 26 Jul, while attempting to march towards the residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The protesters, who have been staging a sit-in outside the Deputy Commissioner's office for a prolonged period, began their march demanding government jobs and the fulfillment of their pending demands. Concurrently, in a significant U-turn, the Panjab government assured the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that ecologically sensitive land released from protection under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) and areas delisted under a 2011 notification, will be excluded from the ambit of its Farm Stay Policy, 2026. The policy had triggered concerns that commercial tourism activities would be permitted on land that was earlier part of the protected forest cover under the PLPA. The state's Farm House Policy framed by the Housing and Urban Development Department has already been stayed by the NGT (earlier coverage).