State Government-Run Old Age and Infirm Homes

What are State Government-Run Old Age and Infirm Homes?

State Government-Run Old Age and Infirm Homes are the residential care facilities operated by the Social Welfare Department, Government of Uttarakhand, for elderly and infirm people who have nobody to look after them. In Hindi the facility is called the Rajkiya Vridh evam Ashakt Awas Grih, and that is the name written on the gate and used in every district file, so it is worth knowing when you go to ask about admission.

The scheme rests on a plain need. Uttarakhand's hill districts have seen decades of out-migration by working-age people, and a large number of elderly parents are left in villages with no earning family member nearby. A pension of a few thousand rupees a month does not solve the problem of an eighty-year-old who cannot cook, cannot walk to a clinic and lives alone. A residential home does.

What a resident receives, free of cost:

• Residential accommodation in the home.
• Nutritious and balanced meals, supplied under a departmental food tender.
• Clothing.
• Medicines and basic medical care.

Nothing is charged. There is no admission fee, no monthly contribution and no deposit.

Where are the homes and how many places do they have?

The most recently commissioned facility is the Rajkiya Vridh evam Ashakt Awas Grih at Raiwala, Dehradun district, which began regular operation on 15 January 2026. It has 25 places for elderly and infirm persons, with free residence and free nutritious meals. Food procurement for it was completed through a tender process before the opening, and five elderly residents had already registered by early January 2026.

State-run homes also operate at Bageshwar and Chamoli, reported with a minimum capacity of around 50 and providing accommodation, free meals and medicines to persons above 60 years of age. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister has publicly announced an expansion of old age homes and senior citizen welfare across the state, so the number of facilities is expected to grow beyond these.

Capacity is the constraint that matters most in practice. Twenty-five places at Raiwala for the whole Dehradun region means admission is not instant, and district offices maintain a waiting position. Applying early, with complete papers, is the single thing that most improves the chance of a place.

Who is eligible for admission to a state old age home?

A person can be admitted if:

• They are a senior citizen, described in reporting on the state homes as 60 years of age or above, or infirm and unable to look after themselves.
• They are destitute, that is, they have no family member able and willing to maintain them, or no means of maintenance of their own.
• They are a resident of Uttarakhand, since these are state facilities administered district by district.
• They are able to live in a residential setting, meaning they do not need round-the-clock hospital care.

A person is not eligible if:

• They have family members who are able and willing to maintain them. The home exists for the destitute; where a family exists, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act route through the SDM's tribunal is the correct remedy, not admission.
• They need continuous hospital-level treatment. An old age and infirm home provides residential care and medicines, not intensive medical management.
• Their conduct or condition makes group residential living unsafe for other residents.

There is no income test in the ordinary sense. Destitution, not a rupee figure, is the criterion, and it is verified locally.

What documents are needed for admission?

The destitution certificate is the document that decides most cases. It is the paper that establishes there is no son, daughter or other relative able to maintain the applicant, and district staff verify it locally before a place is offered.

How to apply for admission to a state old age home

1. Identify the home nearest to the applicant's district — Raiwala in Dehradun, or the homes at Bageshwar and Chamoli. Ask the Social Welfare Department which facility currently has vacancies.
2. Call the helpline. For the Raiwala home in Dehradun, the district administration has published 7500351411 for free residential facility enquiries and registration. The Uttarakhand Social Welfare Department's toll-free helpline is 1800-180-4236.
3. Meet the District Social Welfare Officer with the applicant's age proof, Aadhaar and destitution certificate. In Dehradun district the District Social Welfare Officer's office has been the registration point for Raiwala admissions.
4. Complete the verification. Departmental staff verify the applicant's family position, residence and health condition. This step exists to make sure scarce places go to genuinely destitute people.
5. Take admission when a place is allotted. Carry the applicant's medicines, prescriptions and identity documents on the day of admission, and give the home a contact number for any relative or neighbour who can be reached in an emergency.

How to apply if you are helping a neighbour or stranger

1. Note the person's location and condition, and call the Social Welfare Department helpline 1800-180-4236 or the district's home helpline.
2. Inform the Gram Pradhan, ward member or Tehsildar, whose verification is needed for the destitution certificate.
3. Follow up with the District Social Welfare Officer, who is the officer supported to order verification and allot a place.

Neighbours and local bodies bring in a significant share of admissions, because destitute elderly people frequently cannot navigate an office themselves.

How the homes are run and monitored

Uttarakhand's district administrations treat these homes as a district charge, not just a departmental one. Food supply runs through e-tenders floated by the Social Welfare Department, and District Magistrates conduct inspections of ashrams and homes to check on the condition of elderly residents and children, issuing corrective directions where needed. If you are a relative or a well-wisher and find conditions unsatisfactory, the District Magistrate's office and the District Social Welfare Officer are the two authorities that act.

Related schemes an elderly person should also claim

Admission to a home does not replace cash entitlements, and the two should be claimed together:

• Old Age Pension, administered by the Social Welfare Department through the Social Security Portal at ssp.uk.gov.in.
• Divyang Pension of Rs 1,500 a month for those with more than 40 percent disability, also on ssp.uk.gov.in.
• Bauna (Dwarf) Pension of Rs 1,200 a month for persons above 21 years whose height is four feet or less.
• Ayushman Bharat cover for hospital treatment.

Uttarakhand's Chief Minister released Rs 111 crore in pension through Direct Benefit Transfer to over 7.5 lakh beneficiaries in one disbursal, which gives a sense of how large the state's pension base is relative to the few hundred residential places available.

Where to raise a grievance

• Social Welfare Department toll-free helpline: 1800-180-4236
• Departmental mobile and WhatsApp: 63952 21188
• Raiwala home enquiry line, Dehradun: 7500351411
• District Social Welfare Officer of the district concerned
• Directorate of Social Welfare, Uttarakhand, socialwelfare.uk.gov.in

Admission is free. No official, agent or intermediary may charge money for a place in a state-run old age and infirm home, and any such demand should be reported to the District Magistrate.