Bengaluru, Jun 11 (PTI) The Karnataka government has no intention of discontinuing the Gruha Lakshmi scheme and is only undertaking a verification exercise to identify deceased and ineligible beneficiaries to prevent misuse of public funds, Karnataka State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority Vice-Chairman and MLC Dinesh Gooligowda said on Thursday.
His clarification came amid allegations by the BJP that the Congress government was removing women from the flagship scheme and imposing fresh conditions on beneficiaries.
Accusing the opposition of “spreading misinformation”, Gooligowda said, “There is no truth in the allegations made by opposition leaders. The government is not stopping the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. The objective is only to ensure that benefits reach eligible beneficiaries and to prevent misuse.” The Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme, one of the five pre-poll promises of the ruling Congress, currently provides Rs 2,000 per month to more than 1.24 crore women heads of households across Karnataka.
According to Gooligowda, official data showed that over 1.95 lakh beneficiaries had died, but payments were continuing to be credited to some of their bank accounts due to technical reasons.
“It has come to our notice that government money is still being credited to the bank accounts of deceased beneficiaries. The government is taking steps to stop such misuse and ensure proper utilisation of public funds,” he said.
Gooligowda said he had earlier submitted a written representation to then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking mandatory life certificates for beneficiaries to prevent payments to deceased persons. He added that he had also urged Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to undertake a comprehensive audit and verification of the scheme.
“I have requested the Chief Minister to rectify the shortcomings in the scheme and carry out a complete auditing and verification exercise by identifying deceased and ineligible beneficiaries and removing them from the scheme,” he said.
Gooligowda said the CM had accepted the request and initiated the verification process. “The sole purpose of this exercise is to identify deceased and ineligible beneficiaries and prevent misuse of government funds. Not a single eligible beneficiary currently receiving benefits will face any inconvenience or loss under the scheme.” The BJP, however, has accused the government of “betraying” women beneficiaries.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka alleged that the Congress had promised Rs 2,000 to every woman head of a household before the election, but was now excluding beneficiaries after coming to power.
“Before the election, it was ‘Gruha Lakshmi’; after the election, it has become ‘Ineligible Lakshmi’. This is the true face of the Congress guarantees,” Ashoka said in a post on X.
He claimed that more than 1.12 lakh women across 17 districts had been identified as ineligible and criticised the government for introducing biometric verification requirements.
“Before the election: Promise of Rs 2,000. After the election: A list of ineligible beneficiaries. Now: Fresh harassment in the name of biometric verification,” he said.
BJP state president B Y Vijayendra also attacked the government, alleging that more than 4.30 lakh women had been excluded from the scheme across Karnataka.
“The sole intention of this Congress government appears to be to exclude as many women as possible from the scheme by any means,” Vijayendra said.
He also questioned the status of a purported Rs 5,000-crore instalment that he claimed had not reached beneficiaries. PTI GMS ROH
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