Karnataka starts door-to-door check to curb misuse of Gruha Jyothi scheme

2 min readBengaluruJul 1, 2026 06:51 PM IST

The Gruha Jyothi scheme provides up to 200 units of free electricity per household. (Representational image)

The Karnataka government on Wednesday launched a statewide drive to verify the beneficiaries of the Gruha Jyothi scheme, one of the five guarantees Congress made during the 2023 Assembly elections. The scheme provides up to 200 units of free electricity per household.

The drive will be carried out by staff of all five electricity supply companies in the state: Bescom, Mescom, Hescom, Gescom and the CESC.

According to a government order, staff from the electricity supply companies will visit households and collect additional documents to verify beneficiaries. Documents and details such as ration cards, beneficiary category, and whether the beneficiary is an income tax payer will be uploaded to the Seva Sindhu portal as part of the verification process.

The exercise will have to be completed within two months, the order said. The move aims to eliminate ineligible connections and ensure that only genuine households continue to receive the subsidy.

Misuse by businesses and non-residents

Reports of misuse, including commercial establishments and non-residents availing of benefits, prompted the government to order a door-to-door verification.

Consumers have been asked to keep essential documents ready for inspection. These include Aadhaar, voter IDs, PAN cards, ration cards, caste certificates, and rental agreements in the case of tenants.

Electricity supply company staff will visit homes, record details through a mobile application, and collect signed declaration forms from consumers.

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The Opposition BJP has hit out at the drive, with Leader of Opposition R Ashoka alleging that the verification exercise was launched as the state government did not have the required funds to finance the schemes. The objective is to “exclude lakhs of poor and middle-class households” from the scheme, he alleged.