Karnataka government delays application acceptance for Gruha Lakshmi Yojana to enhance programme implementation

Gruha Lakshmi Yojana is one of the five poll guarantees made by the Congress. Around 1.28 crore women are expected to benefit from this scheme.

The ruling party has so far implemented only the Shakti Scheme — free travel for women in state buses — of the five guarantees it has made. It is yet to implement the remaining four guarantees.

It has already announced the launch date for the other three guarantees. Gruha Jyothi and Anna Bhagya are scheduled to launch on 1 July, and Gruha Lakshmi on 15 August.

However, the government is yet to announce the launch date for Yuva Nidhi. Under this scheme, unemployed graduates and diploma holders will be provided ₹3,000 and ₹1,500 every month, respectively, for a period of two years.

Also Read: Karnataka launches Shakti scheme for women to travel free in buses

Application submission will be expanded to other centres

While announcing the initial launch date for receiving applications under the Gruha Lakshmi Yojana, the state government said that it would accept the application only in Grama One, Karnataka One, and Bengaluru One centres. Now, it has announced that it would expand it to Bapuji Seva Kendras and Nada Kacheris too.

Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar told reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday, “The government is expecting as many as 1.28 crore eligible beneficiaries to avail this scheme. We tested the submitting application process and it will take around seven minutes for each applicant to complete the entire process. Hence, we have decided to expand the application submission centres to Bapuji Seva Kendras and Nada Kacheris, instead of confining it to Grama One, Karnataka One, and Bengaluru One centres.”

She further said, “We want to roll out the scheme in a systematic way and not cause trouble for the women, so we decided to postpone it.”

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು “ ಗೃಹಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ” ಯೋಜನೆ ಜಾರಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟಂತೆ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳಾದ ಸನ್ಮಾನ್ಯ ಶ್ರೀ @DKShivakumar ರವರ ನೇತ್ರತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಭೆಯನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಂಡು ಚರ್ಚಿಸಲಾಯಿತು‌.

ಮಹಿಳೆಯರಿಗಾಗಿ ಜಾರಿಗೆ ಬರಲಿರುವ ಈ ಯೋಜನೆ, ಬಡ ಕುಟುಂಬಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಲಿದೆ.

ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಭೈರೇಗೌಡ,… pic.twitter.com/05tvrRByes

— Laxmi Hebbalkar (@laxmi_hebbalkar) June 16, 2023

Earlier, the state government had said that it would receive the applications only till 15 July. Now, it has removed the application submission deadline.

“There will be no last date to submit the applications,” stated Minister Hebbalkar.

The scheme is applicable only to those women who are Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) card holders. Women who pay income tax or are registered for GST — inclusive of their spouse or son who are paying taxes — are not eligible.

It may be noted that while announcing the guarantee, the Congress leaders had said that they would provide ₹2,000 every woman head of the family. However, after coming to power, the government has imposed conditions to avail the benefit of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.

Also Read: Karnataka poll guarantees can be template for Congress in other states

Government to come up with separate app: DyCM

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that the state government is coming up with a separate mobile application for the Gruha Lakshmi Yojana.

Shivakumar told reporters, “The government has decided to launch a separate mobile application to help women beneficiaries to submit their application in this app. It will not only save their time but it will also avoid long queues outside government offices.”

“This application will be an easy process to apply to as the beneficiaries can submit all the required documents without any hassle. It will be a user-friendly app,” added the deputy chief minister.

Stating that the government is already working on building this mobile application, Minister Hebbalkar told reporters, “We have already approached the Centre for e-Governance to develop an application for the scheme. They have sought four to five days’ time to develop an application.”

“I am continuously following up with the officials of e-Governance. We will roll out the application at the earliest. It will also reduce the burden on all the centres, where the application is accepted manually,” added the minister.

Under the headship of Shivakumar, a meeting was held on the implementation of Gruha Lakshmi Yojana in Bengaluru on Friday. Ministers Krishna Byre Gowda, Priyank Kharge, and Laxmi Hebbalkar were also present.

Also Read: Conditions mount for Congress’ ‘unconditional’ guarantees

‘Change mandatory document list’

A section of people have objected to the state government asking all the women who are applying for Gruha Lakshmi Yojana to submit their spouse’s Aadhaar card and voter ID details along with other documents.

As per the government order, the applicant has to mandatorily submit the following documents: Aadhaar card, ration card (BPL or APL), domicile certificate, caste and income certificate, bank pass book, passport size photo, voter ID, and husband’s Aadhaar and voter ID details.

A woman has to submit all the above-mentioned documents along with the application to avail the benefits of Gruha Lakshmi Yojana.

Belagavi District Kannada Organisations Action Committee Chairman Ashok Chandaragi told South First, “The government’s order to submit husband’s Aadhaar and voter ID details might cause issues to some women applicants.”

“The government should not make it mandatory as it would be difficult for all those women who are widows and divorced to submit the details of their spouse. The submission of this mandatory documents, along with the application, has to be dropped immediately,” urged Chandaragi.

South First tried to contact the Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar, however, she did not respond to either calls or messages.

Also Read: Transgender women eligible for Gruha Lakshmi, Shakti