CM orders crackdown on misuse of guarantee schemes after AG report flags issues
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday directed officials to plug loopholes in the State government’s guarantee schemes while ensuring that no eligible beneficiary is deprived
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday directed officials to plug loopholes in the State government’s guarantee schemes while ensuring that no eligible beneficiary is deprived of benefits. Chairing a review meeting on the implementation of the schemes here, Mr. Shivakumar said the focus should be on identifying ineligible beneficiaries and preventing misuse without disrupting benefits to genuine recipients. “Not a single eligible beneficiary should suffer. The objective is only to stop misuse and ensure benefits reach those entitled to them,” he said. AG’s report The Chief Minister expressed concern over irregularities flagged in the Accountant General’s (AG) report, including cases of multiple beneficiaries receiving Gruha Lakshmi assistance through a single bank account. According to the report, around ₹60 crore was disbursed through nearly three lakh instalments into accounts linked to multiple beneficiaries. The report also pointed to instances of individuals registering multiple accounts and inadequate verification of applications submitted during the initial phase of the scheme.
Change in bank accounts Officials informed the meeting that some Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries had changed their bank accounts after monthly assistance was automatically adjusted towards outstanding loan repayments. Mr. Shivakumar directed officials to ensure that such beneficiaries are not denied assistance because of account changes. He also asked authorities to introduce voice-message alerts to notify beneficiaries when payments are credited to their accounts. The meeting reviewed cases in which the Gruha Lakshmi payments continued to be transferred to accounts of deceased beneficiaries. Discussions were also held on delays in obtaining death records, pending e-KYC compliance and inactive bank or NPCI-linked accounts. The officials informed Mr. Shivakumar that instances of misuse involving UPI-linked Airtel Payments Bank accounts had been detected. He directed authorities to take corrective measures and tighten scrutiny. Only for Karnataka residents Stressing that Karnataka’s welfare schemes should benefit only eligible residents of the State, Mr. Shivakumar expressed concern over payments being made to accounts located outside Karnataka and directed the officials to prevent any such leakage.
During the performance review of the guarantee programmes, the officials said women had undertaken 763 crore free bus journeys under the Shakti scheme till the end of May, with the value of tickets issued amounting to ₹20,047.69 crore. The government is expected to distribute around 10 lakh free bus passes to students from General, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities during 2026-27. Under the Gruha Jyothi scheme, 1.65 crore beneficiaries had availed themselves of free electricity benefits till May-end. The Chief Minister directed the officials to collect information on persons from other States who had settled in Karnataka and were availing themselves of the scheme. He also asserted that beneficiaries of government welfare schemes must have their names on electoral rolls and urged them to ensure their names remain on the voters’ list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision. Under Anna Bhagya scheme The officials apprised the Chief Minister that ₹11,561.05 crore had been transferred directly to beneficiaries under the Anna Bhagya scheme between July 2023 and December 2024, covering over 72 crore beneficiary transactions.
The BriefWire