Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has instructed officials to conduct a comprehensive review of beneficiaries under the government’s five guarantee schemes.
The wide range of schemes have cost the state a cumulative sum of over $1.3 million crores since its inception.
The exercise was announced on Thursday after Shivakumar met senior civil servants and police officials. This comes as Karnataka prepares for another term $51,286 crore on the schemes during the financial year 2026-27. The goal of the review is to identify ineligible beneficiaries and correct flaws in beneficiary records, not to curtail the programs themselves, Shivakumar said. He added: “There will be no retreat from social welfare programs.”
The audit will first focus on Gruha Jyothi, a program that provides up to 200 units of free electricity to households. According to Shivakumar, officials have received complaints that some beneficiaries are demanding subsidy through local connections while using power supply for commercial activities.
“There are 1.64 crore beneficiaries and if eligible people get the benefits, we will not have a problem,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government will seek more complete information on beneficiaries, including contact details, rental status, location records and electricity usage patterns. He also pointed out instances where a single individual was connected to multiple electricity meters.
Questions have also been raised about Gruha Lakshmi, which provides monthly financial assistance to women heading their families. Shivakumar said the discrepancies amount to approx $120 crores has been identified.
“There needs to be accurate data on this, right?” He said.
He added that payments intended for beneficiaries continued to be withdrawn, in some cases, after the death of the beneficiaries.
“Officials and families must report deaths to ensure accountability and prevent abuse of the scheme,” he said.
The review revives concerns Shivakumar raised before he took office about benefits reaching ineligible people. He had earlier said that more than $Perhaps Rs 100 crore were disbursed to ineligible beneficiaries, and in 2024, they spoke of the need for possible changes after some women reportedly offered to pay bus fare despite their right to free travel.
The five guarantee schemes in Karnataka include free electricity under Gruha Jyothi, monthly cash assistance through Gruha Lakshmi, food grain subsidy under Anna Bhagya, unemployment assistance through Yuva Nidhi, and free bus travel for women under Shakti Scheme.
