Over 1.08 lakh income tax payees and 1.04 lakh GST filers removed; officials clarify none had received benefits
Hubballi
The Karnataka government has removed more than 2.13 lakh women from the Gruha Lakshmi scheme after finding them ineligible under the programme’s guidelines. The Women and Child Development Department said the beneficiaries were identified through updates provided on the state’s ‘Kutumba app’.
According to official records, the list included 1.08 lakh women heads of households who were paying income tax, and another 1.04 lakh women whose family members were filing GST returns. “Since the rollout of the scheme in June 2023, such exclusions were mandated by government orders. Beneficiaries or their husbands paying income tax or GST are not eligible,” officials clarified.
Despite the exclusions, the scheme continues to cover a vast base. More than 1.31 crore women registered initially, of which 1.28 crore have been receiving benefits. Over the last two-and-a-half years, the state has disbursed ₹50,005 crore to beneficiaries, including 23 lakh women from Scheduled Castes and eight lakh from Scheduled Tribes.
Gruha Lakshmi project director M.G. Paly confirmed that none of the 2.13 lakh ineligible women had received any installment. “Funds are transferred only after verification. As these women updated their details, non-eligible names were removed,” he said.
The scheme, which provides ₹2,000 per month to women heads of households, has already disbursed three installments this financial year, with a fourth pending.