Women Flock at Bejai Church Hall to Register for the Scheme on Launch of Gruha Lakshmi
Mangaluru: On Wednesday, 29 August 2023, the ruling Congress in Karnataka launched the Gruha Lakshmi scheme which promises Rs 2,000 to the women heads of families in the state. The scheme is one among the five poll promises made by the Congress in the run-up to 2023 in May 2023. Karnataka Assembly elections. Celebrating 100 days in office in Karnataka, the Congress government in the state launched this social welfare scheme for women in Mysuru, which was televised live on TV and online.. According to the scheme, the women heads of a family will receive Rs 2,000 per month from the government.
Based on government data, nearly 1.10 crore women have registered for the scheme in the state. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the national president of Congress, Mallikarjun Kharge, were the chief guests at the event. The Karnataka government has earmarked Rs 17,500 crore for the ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ programme in the current financial year. The Karnataka government under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, with backing by D K Shivakumar has already implemented three of the five pre-poll promises — ‘Shakti’, ‘Gruha Jyothi’ and ‘Anna Bhagya’ — and ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ is the fourth one. The fifth one is the ‘Yuva Nidhi’ scheme that promises to provide unemployment allowance to the state’s youth.
In a speech during the scheme launch in Mysuru, Rahul Gandhi stressed the role of women in the development of Karnataka and hailed Gruha Lakshmi as the world’s largest cash transfer scheme. “Nowhere in the world is the government giving such a large amount to women, Our five schemes in Karnataka are not just schemes, but a governance model. Our thinking is that the government should work for the poor and weak, and no one should be left behind irrespective of religion, caste, or the language they speak. What we did for women in Karnataka, we are going to replicate it across the country. And Karnataka is showing the way for the country,” he said.
He added “When the Congress announced the scheme, the Union government said that it could not be implemented. But the truth is in front of you. Today, accounts of more than one crore women got Rs 2,000. Women are travelling for free in buses. Families are getting 10 kg rice,” added Rahul. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and others were beside him. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that none of the governments has given such guarantees. “(Congress) Leaders from other states are telling me that we should do what Karnataka did. They want to give similar guarantees to the people,” he said.
Also speaking on the occasion, CM Siddaramaiah said, “The BJP and the JD(S) said that we cannot fulfill the guarantees. (Prime Minister) Modi said in Rajasthan that Karnataka would go bankrupt if we implemented the schemes. Today, we have fulfilled four guarantees. By December or January, we will implement Yuva Nidhi also. But the state government has not gone bankrupt. None of the regular schemes were stopped. We implemented the schemes despite allocating funds to all departments and programs”.
Even though the registration for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme began on 19 July 2023, the cut-off date has not been announced yet. Women listed as family heads on Below Poverty Line (BPL), and Above Poverty Line (APL) ration cards are eligible for the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme. Only one woman in a family will be the beneficiary of this scheme. Women government employees, taxpayers and families whose husbands pay income tax or file GST returns are not eligible for the scheme.
The government has also introduced a WhatsApp chatbot service (8147500500) for registration to reduce congestion at the KarnatakaOne and MangaloreOne centres. Over seven lakh applications have been received from the WhatsApp chatbot service. They can even register at the Mangaluru City Corporation Office building in Lalbagh, Mangaluru.
Today, at Bejai Church Hall, during a programme organized by St Francis Xavier Church-Bejai, along with the Commission for Social Development in collaboration with Mangaluru City Corporation organized the ‘Gruha Lakshmi Registration Camp’ from 10.30 am till 2 pm, a large number of women had arrived to avail the scheme. Before the registration, the live screening of the inauguration of the Scheme at Mandya by CM and others was shown, which received loud applause from the audience. Area Ward Corporator Lancelot Pinto of Bejai played a vital role in organizing this programme.
