Bengaluru, Jun 25 (PTI) The Karnataka government on Thursday said that its flagship guarantee scheme ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ is being implemented strictly in accordance with rules and with complete transparency, even as opposition BJP demanded to form an SIT to investigate an alleged Rs 225 crore scam in the project.
The Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, R Ashoka, alleged that a nexus of officials and politicians was behind the irregularities in the scheme that provides Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family.
The Department of Women and Child Development has issued an official clarification regarding media reports and observations in the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report alleging that financial assistance under the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme is being credited to the accounts of ineligible and deceased beneficiaries.
The government stated that this scheme is being implemented strictly in accordance with rules and with complete transparency, ensuring that financial assistance reaches eligible beneficiaries without difficulty.
Stating that the process of identifying ineligible and deceased beneficiaries is underway, the department said a total of 1,94,560 women who are income tax payers or GST return filers have been identified based on data available in the ‘Kutumba’ software platform and are being excluded from monthly financial assistance payments.
A total of 2,88,376 women beneficiaries registered under the scheme have passed away. The department said information regarding deceased beneficiaries is being collected promptly through the ‘e-Janma’ system, the Kutumba database, Anganwadi workers, and Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs), and the process of removing them from the scheme is ongoing.
Among the deceased beneficiaries, 1,03,922 families have legally changed the name of the female head of household on their ration cards, re-registered, and continue to receive benefits as per the rules, it added.
Due to delays in receiving death information, financial assistance amounting to Rs 115 crore was credited to the accounts of 1,08,755 deceased beneficiaries. The release further said that after meetings with various banks through the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), Rs 15.24 crore has already been recovered and credited back to the government’s account, and efforts to recover the remaining amount are in progress.
Providing a technical explanation regarding CAG observations on multiple beneficiaries receiving payments into the same bank account, the department said that the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme is implemented through the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS).
Physical verification conducted at district and taluk levels found that payments credited to the same account occurred only in cases where beneficiaries shared a joint bank account (for example, mother-daughter or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law). These individuals are separate eligible beneficiaries holding different ration cards.
In addition, technical errors by banks (narration errors) may have resulted in incorrect account details being reflected, it said.
On beneficiaries having more than one bank account, the government said that since beneficiaries are free to change the Aadhaar-linked bank account of their choice, assistance may be credited to different accounts in different months. However, a single beneficiary can’t receive payments into more than one account during the same month.
Regarding the observation on payments without bank account details, it said that in some cases, technical issues at banks (narration errors) generate response files without account details. Departmental verification confirmed that the financial assistance was nevertheless credited to those accounts, and banks subsequently provided complete account information in later months.
As of the end of April 2026, a total of 1,30,35,318 beneficiaries have successfully enrolled in the state, it added.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Ashoka said that although the CAG report had pointed out irregularities amounting to Rs 225 crore, no action had been taken so far. He alleged that money had been transferred to fake accounts and that a large network of officials and politicians was involved.
Questioning how funds could be transferred in the names of deceased persons, he asked whether the Revenue Department was “sleeping on the job”.
Noting that despite Karnataka being known as an IT state, the government had failed to prevent payments being made in the names of dead beneficiaries, the LoP said software was deliberately designed to facilitate the misappropriation of funds through deceased persons’ identities. Calling it a major cybercrime, he reiterated the need for an SIT investigation. PTI KSU ADB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.