Gruha Jyothi New Update: Free Electricity May Be Discontinued for Tenants
The government has received reports that several ineligible beneficiaries, including occupants of commercial properties, have allegedly been availing themselves of the free electricity benefit by misusing the scheme.
Gruha Jyothi New Update: The Karnataka government’s flagship Gruha Jyothi scheme, which provides up to 200 units of free electricity to eligible households, has come under stricter enforcement as the Energy Department launches a statewide verification drive to curb misuse of the scheme.
The house-to-house document verification campaign began on July 1, with officials from BESCOM and other Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMs) conducting inspections across the state. The verification process is expected to continue for the next two months, raising concerns among lakhs of beneficiaries, particularly tenants in State.
Statewide Verification to Prevent Misuse:
The government has received reports that several ineligible beneficiaries, including occupants of commercial properties, have allegedly been availing themselves of the free electricity benefit by misusing the scheme.
To identify such cases, officials conducting inspections have been instructed to verify key documents, including:
Aadhaar Card
Voter ID
Rental Agreement (for tenants)
Authorities have warned that if beneficiaries fail to produce the required documents during verification, the free electricity benefit may be discontinued until their eligibility is confirmed.
New Tenants Face Major Challenges:
The revised verification process has created significant difficulties for people who moved into rented houses after July 2023. In many cases, the previous tenant’s Aadhaar remains linked to the Gruha Jyothi scheme, preventing the current tenant from registering their own Aadhaar through the Seva Sindhu portal.
Since the earlier beneficiary has not cancelled their registration after vacating the property, the new tenant is unable to complete the enrolment process.
No Re-registration Until Previous Link Is Removed:
According to BESCOM officials, a fresh Gruha Jyothi registration cannot be processed until the previous beneficiary’s Aadhaar linkage is cancelled. As a result, many new tenants are worried that they could lose access to the free electricity benefit despite being eligible.
Residents have pointed out that tracing former tenants and requesting them to cancel their Aadhaar linkage is often impractical. They have urged the Karnataka government to introduce a technical solution or issue clear guidelines to resolve the issue and ensure that genuine beneficiaries are not deprived of the scheme’s benefits.
