Registrations for the ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ scheme will begin on July 19, Karnataka women and child welfare minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar said on Saturday.
The scheme, the Congress government’s fourth guarantee during the assembly elections, promises cash assistance of ₹2,000 a month to female heads of households.
Briefing media persons at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, Hebbalkar said as many as 12.8 million families will benefit through this scheme. “The scheme will be launched by our chief minister (Siddaramaiah) on July 19,” she said.
“Filing of applications will begin once the scheme is launched on July 19. Registration is free, and there is no deadline to apply since it is a continuous process,” the minister told reporters.
“Those possessing APL/BPL and Antyodaya cards can avail of benefits of the scheme. However, the income tax and GST payers cannot,” she added.
According to the minister, eligible women would get an SMS on their mobile number about the time, date and place of registration.
The beneficiaries can go to designated centres, identified by the government as Karnataka One, Bangalore One, Grama One, and Bapuji Seva Kendra and submit their application.
The applicants will have to carry their ration card, Below Poverty Line card (BPL), Above Poverty Line card (APL), or Antyodaya cards along with their Aadhaar card, the minister said, adding that if someone does not have their bank account linked with Aadhaar, they can produce a passbook.
{{/usCountry}}The applicants will have to carry their ration card, Below Poverty Line card (BPL), Above Poverty Line card (APL), or Antyodaya cards along with their Aadhaar card, the minister said, adding that if someone does not have their bank account linked with Aadhaar, they can produce a passbook.
{{/usCountry}}“The details of the passbook will be fed into the system. If the information of the beneficiary on the passbook matches that on the ration card, then the software will immediately approve it. They will also need to carry an Aadhaar-linked mobile phone to the centres,” Hebbalkar said.
In case a beneficiary is unable to visit the centres on the designated date and time, she can reach there later on the same day, or any other day, between 5 pm and 7 pm, the minister explained.
“Alternately, a Praja Pratinidhi (citizen volunteer identified by the government) will visit every household and register beneficiaries,” the minister said.
A sanction certificate will be issued after registration in the designated centre. In case a registration is done by a Praja Pratinidhi, the sanction certificate will be provided later at the doorstep of the beneficiary, the minister added.
The government has also released a helpline number, 8147500500, where beneficiaries can clarify their doubts through SMS. People can also call 1902 if there are any doubts.
(With inputs from agencies)