K’taka govt all set to re-verify Gruha Lakshmi scheme beneficiaries to weed out ineligible
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is all set to undertake a re-verification exercise of beneficiaries under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme to weed out ineligible beneficiaries and ensure that financial assistance reaches only genuine beneficiaries.
Senior leader H.M. Revanna, chairperson of the guarantees committee, will meet Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar at his residence on Monday on the issue. The decision is likely to be announced later.
It can be noted that the Congress government has conducted re-verification of the Gruha Jyothi free electricity scheme up to 200 watts across the state to weed out ineligible beneficiaries.
According to officials, the government has given the Women and Child Welfare department a one-month deadline to complete the exercise, under which beneficiaries will be verified at the district and taluk levels. Members of local Guarantee Committees will also participate in the verification process to ascertain whether beneficiaries are genuine and eligible to receive the monthly assistance.
Around Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for the re-verification exercise. Staff will visit beneficiaries at their residences to collect and verify details through a dedicated application. Face authentication and biometric verification will also be used as part of the process.
Officials will conduct a survey to identify beneficiaries who no longer meet the eligibility criteria. Those who are paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) and those filing income-tax returns will be examined as part of the verification process. The government will also verify records to identify beneficiaries who have died but continue to receive the assistance.
The re-verification is aimed at improving transparency and preventing misuse and leakage of funds under the scheme. The government intends to remove ineligible beneficiaries from the list and ensure that the scheme benefits women who genuinely qualify for the financial assistance.
The Women and Child Development Department will coordinate the exercise. In urban areas, Revenue Inspectors and Bill Collectors are likely to assist officials in carrying out the verification and survey.
The government has taken up the exercise nearly three years after the Gruha Lakshmi scheme was launched in August 2023. The scheme currently has around 1.23 crore registered beneficiaries across Karnataka.
However, the exercise could put an additional burden on beneficiaries. Those required to undergo re-verification may have to submit an application and spend an entire day completing the process. Beneficiaries who depend on daily wages could potentially lose around Rs 500 to Rs 700 in earnings for the day.
The Gruha Lakshmi scheme was one of the five major guarantees announced by the Congress government in Karnataka. Under the scheme, eligible women identified as heads of households are provided Rs 2,000 per month as financial assistance.
With the beneficiary base having grown to around 1.23 crore, the government is now seeking to conduct a comprehensive verification to ensure that public money is not being disbursed to ineligible, deceased or otherwise disqualified beneficiaries.
The Karnataka government has budgeted roughly Rs 32,000 crore annually for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, and has spent over Rs 74,000 crore to Rs 76,500 crore in total since its launch.