Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries face payment delay, BJP slams

The Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which covers nearly 12.8 million beneficiaries, has an annual budget of ₹32,000 crore, making it a key welfare initiative.

With payments under the Karnataka government’s Gruha Lakshmi scheme getting delayed for past three-four months, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the government of “misleading the voters with unrealistic promises”.

Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries face payment delay, BJP slams

The Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which covers nearly 12.8 million beneficiaries, has an annual budget of ₹32,000 crore, making it a key welfare initiative. As part of the scheme, which was launched in August 2023, ₹2,000 per month were given to the female heads of households without interruption until October 2024. However, the unexpected delay has left recipients uncertain about its future.

Vaishali Kotabagi from Hukkeri in Belagavi said that several of her payments have stuck due to the delay. “Because we were promised this sum every day, I had taken a small loan for fixing my house. But, for the past three months no payment has come and the repayment is stuck,” the 37-year-old housewife told HT.

Besides, Gruha Lakshmi scheme, there have been complaints about non-payment of funds to beneficiaries of Anna Bhagya (which provides cash in lieu of the additional 5 kg of rice to every member of a BPL household) for the past couple of months in some cases.

Senior government officials have confirmed that both schemes have faced a three-month delay in fund disbursement. However, the Congress government has attributed this to “technical issues” rather than financial constraints.

The opposition has strongly criticised the delay, with the BJP accusing the Congress of “misleading voters with unrealistic promises”. The party has alleged that the government is struggling with a financial crisis, leading to disruptions in welfare schemes.

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Monday dismissed these claims and said: “The Congress government is dedicated to fulfilling its promises, but schemes of this scale take time to manage. We walk the talk. It is not a question of a lack of funds but rather the time required to process and distribute them. Payments under the Anna Bhagya scheme have been delayed by two to three months, but they will be cleared within this month.”

The controversy deepened after energy minister KJ George, while addressing the issue in Chitradurga on Wednesday, said: “We will pay as soon as the income comes in. That is not a monthly salary.” His statement triggered backlash, with opposition leader R Ashoka criticising the government’s handling of the scheme.

“Minister KJ George, you have said that Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya money is not equal to your monthly salary. Is this the respect you give to voters?” Ashoka questioned. “They are not begging you for money for Gruha Lakshmi and Anna Bhagya. The people had not even asked you to start these guarantee schemes. Why are you announcing guarantee schemes out of necessity for the sake of your Congress party’s power and now belittling the voters? If you can, implement the guarantee schemes as promised with respect.”

A senior official from the women and child development ministry said the delay was a result of problems with direct benefit transfer (DBT) process. “Until now, DBT transfers were done through a centralised system in Bengaluru. However, the volume of information and documentation became overwhelming, so we decided to decentralise the process. Deputy directors in various districts are being trained to handle DBT transfers monthly. It is only a matter of time before this is streamlined,” the official said.

With PTI inputs