Bengaluru, 15 June

A letter written by Karnataka Guarantee Implementation Authority vice-chairman Dinesh Gooligowda to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has sparked a fresh debate on loopholes and beneficiary verification in two welfare schemes — Gruha Lakshmi and Gruha Jyothi.

Gooligowda urged the government to review the schemes after identifying a large number of potentially ineligible beneficiaries. According to data cited in the letter, 1.24 crore women currently receive ₹2,000 every month under Gruha Lakshmi, costing the state ₹2,480 crore a month and ₹29,760 crore annually. So far, the government has disbursed ₹72,253 crore, while total spending under all five guarantee schemes has crossed ₹1.38 lakh crore.

The letter points out that 1,95,224 Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries died as of March 2026, but payments may still be continuing in some cases. Stopping such payments could save the government ₹39.05 crore every month and ₹468.54 crore annually. It also notes that 1,94,560 beneficiaries are Income Tax or GST payers, raising questions about their eligibility. Payments to this group amount to nearly ₹39 crore a month and ₹466.94 crore a year.

Gooligowda has recommended maintaining village- and ward-level death records, assigning departments responsibility for tracking deceased beneficiaries, and directing banks to recover benefits credited after a beneficiary's death. He has also suggested introducing biometric authentication for Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries.

The letter further flags alleged misuse of the Gruha Jyothi scheme, under which 1.64 crore consumers receive free electricity of up to 200 units. Complaints have reportedly emerged that some beneficiaries are availing the subsidy for commercial electricity connections.

The recommendations come amid the government's ongoing beneficiary verification exercise aimed at plugging leakages and ensuring welfare benefits reach eligible recipients.

Guarantee schemes will continue even after next polls: Siddaramaiah 

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday dismissed opposition claims that Karnataka's five guarantee schemes would be discontinued, asserting the Congress-implemented programmes would continue even after the party returns to power following the next Assembly election.

Taking to social media, Siddaramaiah assured beneficiaries that "the five guarantee schemes will not be discontinued for any reason. Not only for the next two years, but even after the next election, when we return to power, these schemes will continue," he said.

He further urged beneficiaries not to heed what he described as misinformation spread by opposition parties, which he termed "anti-poor."

The former chief minister alleged that the BJP had opposed the guarantee schemes from the outset — first arguing they were impossible to implement, then warning they would bankrupt the government, and now spreading rumours of discontinuation.