A strict decision has been taken regarding strictness and verification of government welfare schemes in Karnataka. Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said on Friday that only those people whose names are included in the voter list will get the benefit of government welfare schemes. Besides, he also said that no entitled beneficiary should face any problem due to this step.
CM said that 'Griha Jyoti' scheme, under which houses get 200 units of free electricity. Only registered voters will get its benefit. He appealed to the citizens to check that their names are present in the voter list during the ongoing 'Special Intensive Revision' (SIR).
'Griha Jyoti' is included in the five guarantee schemes of the state. Under this, houses get 200 units of free electricity. 'Griha Lakshmi', under which the female head of the family gets Rs 2,000. 'Anna Bhagya', which provides 10 kg rice every month to every member of BPL families. 'Yuva Nidhi', which provides Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates aged 18 to 25 years and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders for two years. And 'Shakti', which provides free travel to women in non-luxury government buses in Karnataka.
The Auditor General's report was reviewed in the meeting. It mentioned cases where payments to multiple beneficiaries under the 'Griha Lakshmi' scheme were made through the same bank account. According to the report, about Rs 60 crore was released through about three lakh installments.
CM Shivkumar also told about such cases in which beneficiaries had changed their bank accounts after repaying the loan using 'Griha Lakshmi' fund. He said, "Many beneficiaries have taken loans from the bank. As soon as the 'Griha Lakshmi' amount is credited, it gets adjusted towards loan repayment and some people have changed their accounts. Such beneficiaries should not face any problem."
