Gruha Jyothi revision aims to ensure benefits reach only eligible households: Gescom chief

The door-to-door verification of beneficiaries under the State government’s Gruha Jyothi scheme gathered pace in Kalaburagi on Thursday (July 2), with Gescom chairman Praveen Patil Harwal personally inspecting the ongoing exercise and interacting with beneficiaries to clear doubts over the revision process.

Mr. Harwal visited the residence of Shivaraya B. Poste at Vijayanagar Colony near Aland Checkpost, where Gescom personnel were collecting beneficiary details as part of the physical verification drive. He observed the re-registration process, spoke to residents, and responded to queries regarding the ongoing revision of the scheme.

Addressing reporters after the visit, Mr. Harwal asserted that the revision exercise was intended solely to remove ineligible and bogus beneficiaries while ensuring that every deserving household in Karnataka received the benefits of the scheme.

“The Gruha Jyothi scheme is not being discontinued. Our objective is to make it more transparent so that its benefits reach only the eligible people of Karnataka. The revision will ultimately benefit genuine consumers,” he said.

Mr. Harwal said Gescom, which covers the seven districts of the Kalyana Karnataka region, has 24,66,979 domestic electricity connections and of these, 23,96,139 consumers using up to 200 units of electricity have been identified as eligible under the Gruha Jyothi scheme. However, only 22,45,153 connections are currently registered, leaving nearly 1.5 lakh eligible domestic connections outside the scheme, he added.

“This verification will also help eligible households that have not yet enrolled under Gruha Jyothi to register and receive the benefit,” he said.

Referring to criticism over the exercise, Harwal said misinformation was being spread unnecessarily.

“Some people are creating confusion by portraying the fresh data collection in a negative light. The intention is only to ensure that the benefits are available exclusively to the eligible residents of Karnataka. There is absolutely no need for consumers to visit Gescom offices,” he said.

Mr. Harwal clarified that Gescom meter readers would visit every beneficiary’s residence, verify documents and complete the re-registration process free of cost using a mobile application.

‘No caste certificate’

He also dismissed rumours that caste certificates were mandatory for re-registration.

“No caste certificate is required. Only caste details are being collected for statistical purposes to assess the reach of the scheme across different sections of society. Consumers need only keep documents such as Aadhaar, Voter ID, Ration Card and PAN card ready when our staff visit,” he explained.

According to Gescom, the physical verification and re-registration exercise was initiated after instances of misuse of the scheme by people from outside Karnataka came to light. The exercise is aimed at ensuring that the subsidy reaches only eligible households in the State in accordance with the government’s policy.

The utility has appealed to consumers to cooperate with field staff during the verification drive and ignore rumours regarding the continuation of the Gruha Jyothi scheme.