A couple of weeks after admitting that Rs 100 crore allocated to the Gruha Lakshmi scheme had been misused, the Karnataka Government is all set to introduce Aadhaar-based biometric verification for
beneficiaries.
The move comes after the Departments of Women and Child Development and Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens deleted the names of 4.3 lakh beneficiaries. The names were purged as many of the beneficiaries had died, and the rest were found ineligible for the Gruha Lakshmi monthly allowance as they earned enough to file Income Tax (I-T) returns.
A government official told The Indian Express that in some cases, women drawing Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in salary claimed Rs 2,000 every month under the government scheme, which was mandated to help the poor.
“Only the woman head of the family will receive the amount. If the person is dead, another woman member of the family can provide the death certificate and continue to get the money,” an official said.
While some women alleged that their names were deleted due to technical errors, officials urged them to approach the department concerned with documents and added that verification drives would also be conducted in the near future.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday, “Others are receiving money in the names of deceased beneficiaries. They have provided someone else’s phone numbers. So, we are reviewing this. There is no intention to reduce the number of beneficiaries. Our aim is to ensure the scheme reaches those who are eligible.”
Gruha Lakshmi is one of the five guarantee schemes launched by the Congress Government after it came to power in May 2023. Applications were invited in June-July, and the transfer of the Rs 2,000 monthly allowance to each beneficiary began in August that year.
Since e-KYC verification was conducted at the time of enrolment, there is no mechanism to confirm whether beneficiaries are still alive. Therefore, the government wants to prevent the misuse of funds by adopting a biometric verification system.
During the Budget Session, former chief minister Siddaramaiah said they have allocated Rs 28,608 crore for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme for the 2026-27 fiscal year.