Only those on electoral rolls after SIR to get govt scheme benefits: Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar

ONly voters whose names ar in the electoral undulate testament be beneficiaries of regime schemes, mysore chief minister DK Shivakumar said on Friday, but directed officials that no eligible beneficiary is deprived of benefits.During a review meeting at the Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said access to one of the state government’s five guarantees — Gruha Jyothi — would now be restricted to registered voters and urged citizens to ensure their names are not removed during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The “Gruha Jyothi” scheme offers 200 units of electricity free to every household.“Only voters whose names are in the electoral roll will be beneficiaries of government schemes. Therefore, during the Special Intensive Revision, beneficiaries should ensure that their names are not left out,” he said.Insisting on stricter checks, the chief minister said the administration would not allow eligible families to be excluded from support. “Not a single eligible beneficiary should face any hardship. Our focus should only be on stopping ineligible beneficiaries and preventing misuse of the schemes.”Besides “Gruha Jyothi”, the five guarantees are the “Gruha Lakshmi” scheme that promises ₹2,000 to every woman head of a family; “Anna Bhagya” that offers 10 kg rice to every member of the BPL family a month; “Yuva Nidhi” that promises ₹3,000 dole to unemployed graduates and ₹1,500 to unemployed diploma holders for two years (in the 18-25 age-group); and the “Shakti” scheme that permits free travel for Karnataka women within the state in government non-luxury buses.The meeting also brought into focus concerns over beneficiaries who had migrated from other states but continued to receive benefits under Gruha Jyothi.“Our state’s schemes should benefit only beneficiaries of Karnataka. We have found that voters from other states are receiving these benefits. This must be stopped,” the CM said.Officials also flagged irregularities linked to financial transactions in welfare delivery systems, including alleged misuse of Unified Payments Interface accounts associated and transfers to bank accounts outside Karnataka. The CM directed that such flows be halted and benefits confined within the state.The review further examined findings from the Auditor General’s report, which recorded instances of Gruha Lakshmi assistance being routed through single bank accounts for multiple beneficiaries, with nearly ₹60 crore disbursed across about three lakh instalments.Under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Shivakumar noted that some beneficiaries had altered bank accounts after instalments were adjusted against loan repayments. “Many beneficiaries have taken bank loans. As soon as the Gruha Lakshmi amount is credited, it gets adjusted towards loan repayment, and some have changed their accounts. Such beneficiaries should not face inconvenience,” he added.He also acknowledged cases in which payments continued even after the death of beneficiaries. “It has come to light that payments are being made even to deceased beneficiaries. This should not happen,” he said, directing officials to ensure real-time updates of beneficiary records. To improve transparency, the CM instructed that beneficiaries receive an automated voice message once Gruha Lakshmi payments are credited to their accounts.The meeting reviewed the scale of the state’s flagship schemes. Under Shakti, women have undertaken 763 crore free bus journeys by the end of May, with ticket value estimated at ₹20,047.69 crore. The government expected to issue around 1 million free bus passes to students in the 2026-27 academic year.Under Gruha Jyothi, 16.5 million beneficiaries have availed free electricity. Under Anna Bhagya, ₹11,561.05 crore was transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer between July 2023 and December 2024, covering over 720.2 million beneficiary instances, while an additional 5 kg of rice continues to be distributed monthly to 44.4 million beneficiaries.