Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that only voters whose names appeared in the electoral roll would benefit from the government schemes, but directed officials not to deny the benefits to any eligible beneficiary.
During a review meeting at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said access to one of the state government’s five safeguards – Gruha Jyothi – will now be limited to registered voters and urged citizens to ensure that their names are not removed during the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The ‘Gruha Jyothi’ scheme offers 200 units of free electricity to each household.
“Only voters whose names appear in the electoral roll are beneficiaries of government schemes. Therefore, during the special intensive review, beneficiaries must ensure that their names are not excluded,” he said.
Insisting on stricter checks, the Prime Minister said the administration would not allow eligible families to be excluded from support. “No eligible beneficiary should face any difficulties. Our focus should only be on stopping ineligible beneficiaries and preventing misuse of schemes.”
In addition to the “Groha Jyothi”, the five guarantees are the “Groha Lakshmi” scheme, which is… $2000 for every woman head of household. “Anna Bhagya” which provides 10 kg of rice to each BPL family member monthly; “Yuva Nidhi” which promises $$3,000 for unemployed graduates $1,500 for unemployed people who hold a two-year diploma (for the age group 18-25); and the ‘Shakti’ scheme that allows free travel for Karnataka women within the state in non-luxury government buses.
The meeting also highlighted concerns over beneficiaries who had migrated from other states but continued to receive benefits under Gruha Jyothi.
“Our state schemes should only benefit beneficiaries from Karnataka. We have found that voters from other states are receiving these benefits. This must be stopped,” the Chief Minister said.
Officials also pointed out irregularities linked to financial transactions in welfare delivery systems, including alleged misuse of linked Unified Payments Interface accounts and transfers to bank accounts outside Karnataka. The Prime Minister directed to stop these flows and limit the interest within the country.
The review also addressed the findings of the Auditor General’s report, which recorded instances of Gruha Lakshmi assistance being channeled through single bank accounts to multiple beneficiaries, with nearly $Rs 60 crore has been disbursed in about three lakh instalments.
Under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Shivakumar pointed out that some beneficiaries changed their bank accounts after adjusting the installments against loan repayments. “Many beneficiaries have taken bank loans. Once the Gruha Lakshmi amount is deposited, it is adjusted to repay the loan, and some have changed their accounts. These beneficiaries should not face any inconvenience,” he added.
He also recognized cases where payment continued even after the death of the beneficiaries. “It has been found that payments are being made even to deceased beneficiaries. This should not happen,” he said, directing officials to ensure that beneficiary records are updated in real time. To improve transparency, the Prime Minister directed that beneficiaries should receive an automated voice message once the Gruha Lakshmi payments are deposited in their accounts.
The meeting reviewed the size of the pioneering projects in the country. During the Shakti era, women took 763 crore free bus rides by the end of May, with a ticket valued at Rs. $Rs 20,047.69 crore. The government expected to issue about one million free bus tickets to students in the 2026-27 academic year.
Under the Gruha Jyothi project, 16.5 million beneficiaries have benefited from free electricity. Under the leadership of Anna Bhagya, $Rs 11,561.05 crore has been transferred through direct benefit transfer between July 2023 and December 2024, covering over 720.2 million beneficiary cases, while an additional 5 kg of rice continues to be distributed monthly to 44.4 million beneficiaries.
