Bengaluru, June 10 (AHN) The Congress government in Karnataka has ordered a re-verification of beneficiaries under the Gruha Laxmi scheme, which provides a monthly allowance of Rs 2,000 to women heads of households.

The move has sparked concerns and renewed debate over whether the government is considering scaling back its flagship guarantee schemes. However, the government has maintained that the exercise is aimed solely at preventing misuse and ensuring benefits reach eligible recipients.

The decision to review the Gruha Laxmi scheme follows the detection of alleged misuse, with monthly allowances reportedly being credited to the accounts of 1.48 lakh deceased beneficiaries.

The issue was identified by Congress MLC Dinesh Gooligowda, Vice Chairman of the Guarantee Implementation Committee.

Following the findings, the government stopped payments to those accounts and decided to reassess the beneficiary list.

Speaking to AHN, Dinesh Gooligowda confirmed that monthly payments of Rs 2,000 had been deposited into accounts belonging to beneficiaries who had died.

"The payments have now been stopped. I had submitted a report to then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and then Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, highlighting the misuse of the scheme," he said.

He further stated that D.K. Shivakumar has agreed to a comprehensive re-verification of Gruha Laxmi beneficiaries and has issued directions in this regard while chairing a meeting on the matter.

Sources said approximately 1.48 lakh deceased beneficiaries had continued to receive payments for up to five months.

During the review process, officials also found discrepancies in the mobile numbers linked to some beneficiary accounts.

According to sources, the government is considering inviting fresh applications from beneficiaries as part of the verification exercise.

There are around 1.28 crore beneficiaries under the Gruha Laxmi scheme across Karnataka.

The state government spends approximately Rs 30-32 crore every month on the programme.

Sources said a proposal to seek fresh applications from all beneficiaries could be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting.

The development comes amid repeated assurances from Shivakumar that the government has no plans to withdraw any of its guarantee schemes.

He has, however, emphasised the need to verify beneficiaries to ensure that benefits reach the intended recipients and to prevent misuse.

He has previously referred to alleged misuse in both the Shakti free bus travel scheme and the Gruha Laxmi programme.

Meanwhile, JD(S) leader and social media influencer Jhanvi Rajshekar, speaking to AHN, criticised the government's handling of the guarantee schemes.

"The guarantee schemes were implemented in an unscientific manner from the beginning. Then Deputy Chief Minister and current Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had claimed that the benefits were available to everyone. As a result, hundreds of crores of rupees were allegedly disbursed to ineligible beneficiaries," she said.

"All of this involved taxpayers' money. If the schemes had been implemented scientifically from the outset, the misuse of hundreds of crores could have been avoided. The Congress government also curtailed the Sandhya Suraksha scheme, reducing the number of beneficiaries from 23 lakh to around 6-7 lakh. The government is directly responsible for the alleged misuse of public funds," she alleged.

Jhanvi further claimed that while development works had been affected due to the financial burden of guarantee schemes, the benefits were still not reaching the rightful beneficiaries.

"There are clear signs that some guarantees could eventually be curtailed. The Congress government launched Indira Canteens in 2017 to provide subsidised food. However, despite spending hundreds of crores, it struggled to sustain the programme," she said.

According to Jhanvi, only about 200 of the nearly 600 Indira Canteens originally planned or established remain operational.

"Three years of the government's tenure have already passed, and the final year will effectively be an election year. At this stage, identifying genuine beneficiaries and correcting the system will be difficult. None of the government's ambitious welfare projects have been implemented successfully," she alleged.