Over 3,000 ‘ghost’ beneficiaries of Gruha Lakshimi scheme in Dakshina Kannada

There are 3,477 “ghost” beneficiaries of the Karnataka government’s Gruha Lakshmi scheme in Dakshina Kannada, and over ₹3 crore has been transferred to their bank accounts even after their deaths, said Bharath Mundoi, president of Dakshina Kannada District Guarantee Schemes Implementation Committee, in Mangaluru on June 16.

Speaking with The Hindu after chairing a meeting at the zilla panchayat to review the implementation of the schemes, Mr. Mundodi said there were 3.87 lakh beneficiaries of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. Under this scheme, the government deposits ₹2,000 every month into the bank account of the woman head of a household.

Regarding the 3,477 “ghost” beneficiaries, Mr. Mundodi said, “This is less than 1% of the total Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries.” He added that ₹3.34 crore has been credited to the “ghost” beneficiary accounts. This has come to light following an investigation by officials after the State government early this year flagged the transfer of ₹22 crore to bank accounts of “ghost” beneficiaries.

Mr. Mundodi said he has asked district officials to work with the implementation committee members to probe how these accounts have been used. Action has to be taken, in consonance with bank authorities, to move the Gruha Lakshmi money from these accounts back to the government. Wherever money has been withdrawn from these accounts, the amount should be recovered from family members of the “ghost” beneficiaries, he added, stating that officials have been directed to remove “ghost” beneficiaries from the list of Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries.

“We were the first district to point out that “ghost” beneficiaries were getting the money. We have to be the first district to return the credited amount,” Mr. Mundodi said.

On other guarantees

Mr. Mundodi directed the officials to take action towards providing employment opportunities to unemployed youths who have received a monthly unemployment allowance under the Yuva Nidhi scheme for the past two years. Officials said that of the 7,734 youths who were registered under the scheme, 6,179 have received an allowance so far.

Mr. Mundodi said KSRTC conductors should behave respectfully with women travelling free under the Shakti scheme in KSRTC buses. He proposed free travel for women in inter-State KSRTC buses till the Karnataka border.

He asked ration shop operators to distribute rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme to beneficiaries in a responsible way.