Mysuru: With little more than three weeks to go before the Aug 31 deadline, door-to-door verification under the Gruha Jyothi scheme has reached 57% completion in Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) division that includes Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Hassan and Kodagu districts.The scheme provides free power up to 200 units per month for eligible residential households.However, several beneficiaries complained they were being forced to visit CESC offices to complete the verification process, alleging personnel, including meter readers, were not visiting homes as required.CESC officials, however, denied any lapse, saying the process, which began on July 1, is getting delayed in some areas because consumers are either not available at home or are not providing the required information when staff turn up at their doorsteps.Srinivas, a beneficiary and resident of Dattagalli, claimed no CESC staffer visited his home to complete Gruha Jyothi verification. “I had to visit a CESC office in west Mysuru to complete the documentation,” he said.CESC superintending engineer (SE) A Sunil Kumar claimed forms for verification were distributed to registered beneficiaries, and verification would be completed by the deadline.It is mandatory for registered beneficiaries to furnish details, including correct account and household information, to ensure eligibility and avoid errors in receiving the benefits.To a query, the SE said people were visiting CESC offices because they had either failed to furnish the necessary information and documents when CESC staff visited them at their homes or they were absent during the door-to-door visit.About 92% of consumers are benefitting from the govt’s free power scheme, the SE further revealed, adding that total registered Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries with CESC stood at 20.1 lakh.
