K’taka to begin Gruha Jyothi free electricity beneficiary verification drive from July 1

Bengaluru, June 30 (IANS) The Karnataka Energy Department will launch a statewide door-to-door verification drive for beneficiaries of the Gruha Jyothi Scheme from July 1, as part of an exercise to update and verify beneficiary records under the government’s flagship free electricity programme, the Chief Minister’s Office stated on Tuesday.

The Gruha Jyothi Scheme, launched in July 2023, is undergoing a comprehensive verification process. Meter readers and officials of all five Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMs) will visit beneficiaries’ residences to verify records and collect the required information. The verification will be completed on-site through a mobile application and a declaration form, the department said.

The drive will be conducted across the jurisdictions of all five ESCOMs – Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM), Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited (HESCOM), Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM) and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC).

The Energy Department has asked beneficiaries to keep the required documents ready for verification when officials visit their homes. The documents include an Aadhaar card (for verification purposes only), a passport-size photograph of the beneficiary, a Voter ID card, a PAN card, a tenancy or rental agreement (where applicable), a ration card, and a caste certificate.

Officials said physical verification by meter readers is essential to completing the exercise and updating beneficiary details accurately. The department has appealed to all Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries and electricity consumers to cooperate with the visiting officials to ensure that the verification process is completed smoothly and within the stipulated time.

The door-to-door verification campaign will commence simultaneously across all five ESCOM jurisdictions from July 1.

Karnataka’s free electricity scheme, the Gruha Jyothi Scheme, provides eligible domestic consumers with up to 200 units of electricity free of cost each month. Launched by the Congress government in July 2023 as one of its five guarantee schemes, the benefit is available to households that register for the scheme and whose monthly consumption remains within their sanctioned limit based on past average usage. If consumption exceeds the eligible limit, beneficiaries pay only for the excess units.

There are around 1.64-1.74 crore registered domestic electricity consumers across Karnataka. Rs 10,578 crore has been earmarked for the scheme in the 2026-27 State Budget. The state government has spent about Rs 28,000 crore on the scheme since its launch in 2023.

–IANS

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