Mysuru: With the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls coming to an end on Tuesday, the department of women and child development is preparing to launch a verification drive of Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries to identify ineligible beneficiaries and ensure that the benefits reach the intended recipients.This will be the second major verification exercise involving beneficiaries of the state’s guarantee schemes, following the verification of Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries.Recently, the department had also conducted a survey to identify and exclude deceased beneficiaries from the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. In Mysuru district, the department is working with banks to reclaim the payments made to the deceased beneficiaries.According to sources in the department, a dedicated form has been introduced for the proposed exercise. Enumerators will visit households to verify the details of beneficiaries. Only those who fulfil the eligibility criteria, including having voting rights in Karnataka, will be considered eligible for the benefit.The proposed verification is also expected to introduce changes in the fund transfer process. Financial assistance will be transferred only to bank branches located within Karnataka, and transfer to loan accounts will not be permitted, sources said.Congress MLC Dinesh Guligowda, who is also vice-president of the Karnataka State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority, said the Gruha Lakshmi verification drive would begin after the SIR exercise concluded.According to the authorities, govt will deploy ASHA and anganwadi workers for the exercise, as they are familiar with beneficiaries and household details at the grassroots level. However, ASHA workers have expressed their unwillingness to participate in the drive.“We were asked to attend the training programme for the verification exercise. However, since it is not our responsibility, we did not attend the training. Several govt agencies still owe us thousands of rupees for our participation in previous such exercises,” said Sandhya PS, a representative of ASHA Workers’ Federation.In Mysuru district, 6,72,000 Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries have been mapped for the survey, said R Nagaraj, deputy director of the department of women and child development.
