Mangaluru, 2 September 2026: Karnataka government has decided to establish ‘Village Guarantee Committees’ at every gram panchayat and ward level to ensure transparent implementation and comprehensive re-verification of the state’s five guarantee schemes, said H.M. Revanna, Chairman of the Karnataka Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Circuit House in Mangaluru on Tuesday, Revanna said village and ward-level committees are now being formed to strengthen verification at the grassroots level, following the existing state, district and taluk-level guarantee committees.
Each gram panchayat-level committee will comprise six members, including two women, one Scheduled Caste (SC) member, one minority member, one Other Backward Classes (OBC) member and one member from the general category. A government order has already been issued, and the district committee will prepare the list and obtain approval from the district in-charge minister before finalising the appointments.
Gruha Lakshmi verification to be conducted door-to-door
Revanna said beneficiaries of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme will not have to visit government offices for verification. Committee members, along with Anganwadi workers, Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs), gram panchayat secretaries and Women and Child Development Department staff, will visit beneficiaries' homes. Aadhaar details, photographs and other information will be verified on the spot and applications will be completed during the visit.
Two Gruha Lakshmi instalments pending
Clarifying reports about the non-payment of the February and March instalments of Gruha Lakshmi last year, Revanna said the money had neither been misappropriated nor was there any corruption involved.
He said the amount had not been released from the government treasury. Since payments are made directly to beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), there is no scope for intermediaries, he said. Government is committed to releasing the two pending instalments to eligible beneficiaries among the 1.23 crore women covered by the scheme at the earliest, Revanna added.
Verification across the State has also detected payments being credited to accounts of deceased beneficiaries. A total of ₹117 crore had been credited to accounts of deceased persons across Karnataka, of which ₹30 crore has already been recovered. Recovery of the remaining amount from banks and post offices is underway.
In Dakshina Kannada, ₹3.34 crore had been credited to accounts of deceased beneficiaries, of which ₹1.43 crore has been recovered, he said. The government has also allowed another eligible woman member of the deceased beneficiary’s family to receive the benefit under the scheme.
₹1.47 lakh crore transferred through five guarantees
According to Revanna, the five guarantee schemes have so far transferred a combined ₹1.47 lakh crore directly to beneficiaries through DBT. Under Gruha Lakshmi, 1.23 crore women across Karnataka have received ₹76,951 crore. In Mangaluru, 3.53 lakh beneficiaries have received ₹2,230.65 crore.
Under Gruha Jyothi, 1.64 crore consumers have received subsidies amounting to ₹28,759.54 crore. Re-verification is currently being carried out to examine commercial electricity connections. Under Yuva Nidhi, 3.99 lakh youths have registered across Karnataka, with ₹1,203 crore spent under the scheme. In Mangaluru, 7,542 unemployed youths have received ₹21.48 crore.
Under the Shakti scheme, women have made 807 crore free trips across Karnataka, with the government spending ₹21,233 crore. In Mangaluru, 16.06 crore journeys have been recorded, involving expenditure of ₹554.13 crore.
Additional KSRTC buses for coastal Karnataka
Responding to concerns over shortage of buses in rural areas following the introduction of the Shakti scheme, Revanna said private buses are available in large numbers in the coastal region. He said RTO officials have been instructed to obtain the necessary permits for operating additional KSRTC services. Additional buses will soon be deployed in Mangaluru and Udupi, he added. Dakshina Kannada District Guarantee Committee Chairman Bharat Mundodi and others were present at the press conference.
Indira Kit to replace rice component under Anna Bhagya
Government will soon introduce an ‘Indira Kit’ under the Anna Bhagya scheme, Revanna said. He explained that after the Centre stopped supplying rice, the state had initially provided money in place of 5 kg of rice and later increased the rice entitlement to 10 kg. The proposed kit is aimed at preventing beneficiaries from selling rice in the black market while also providing more nutritious food. Kit is expected to contain essential groceries such as sugar, pulses, cooking oil and salt. To ensure transparency, district-wise tendering will be undertaken instead of a single state-level tender, he said.
Keywords
Karnataka Guarantee Schemes, Gruha Lakshmi, Village Guarantee Committee, Shakti Scheme, Anna Bhagya, Indira Kit, Citizen News Puttur