Karnataka Govt Announces August Launch of Free Power & Women's Monthly Allowance Schemes

The Karnataka state government, now led by the Congress party, has set dates for the launch of two key programs promised during the 2023 Assembly election campaign.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the Griha Jyoti scheme, which provides free electricity of up to 200 units to households, will be launched on August 1st. The Griha Lakshmi scheme, which offers ₹ 2,000 to one woman in each family, will be launched on August 17th and 18th. These programs are expected to bring relief to many households in the state.

The Griha Jyoti plan is estimated to cost the government around ₹13,000 crore a year, while the Griha Lakshmi scheme is expected to cost almost ₹35,000 crore. Both these schemes are part of five poll guarantees of the Congress, including free bus travel for women, financial assistance for the unemployed youth, and 10 kg of rice for each member of BPL households, which is expected to cost around ₹ 60,000 crore annually.

The government is expected to present a budget in July detailing how they plan to obtain funding to make up for the outflow of resources, reported The Indian Express

Implementation Of Schemes

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who conducted a meeting to examine the schemes' readiness for execution, directed authorities to simplify the application procedure and subsequent approvals. He recommended that authorities avoid asking for unnecessary documents and emphasized that any rejection should be justified with solid reasoning.

Since a significant number of applications are expected for all of the guarantee programs, the CM asked officials from the e-governance department to expand the capacity of the Seva Sindhu Portal to accommodate the staggering amount of data handed in.

"We are planning to launch the Griha Jyoti scheme on August 1st at Kalaburgi," said Siddaramaiah while ordering authorities to clear up any ambiguities regarding the initiatives.

"Registration for the Griha Jyoti scheme can be done through Seva Sindhu portal. In addition, help desks will be established in all ESCOMs. The registration process will start from June 15th. Application can be submitted through Bangalore One, Karnataka One, Gram One centres and also can be submitted at home through computers or mobile apps," a government statement said, quoting the CM.

The Griha Jyoti free power plan would also apply to tenants. Arrears on past power bills can be paid until September 30th. Tenants can use this service by presenting the agreement letter, Aadhaar card, RR number, and voter ID of the same address in accordance with the Griha Jyoti scheme requirements.

The Griha Lakshmi program will launch in Belagavi on August 17 or 18, with the application process opening on June 15th. Applications can be submitted online through the Seva Sindhu portal or in person at Nadakacheris, which will have dedicated counters.

"Applicants should provide ration card number, Aadhaar card number of wife and husband, bank account details with Aadhaar combination. Copies of these documents can also be submitted with offline applications," according to the government statement.

The amount offered in the scheme will be directly deposited into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries through DBT. It is expected that approximately 85% of families in the state will benefit from this program. Even APL cardholders, not taxpayers registered for GST, can use this service.

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