Ballari drops 4,225 ineligible Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries

Ballari: As many as 4,225 ineligible beneficiaries have been removed from the Gruha Lakshmi scheme in Ballari district after a verification drive found that income taxpayers and even deceased persons were continuing to receive the monthly assistance of Rs 2,000.The women and child development department, with support from anganwadi workers, reviewed the district’s five taluks following complaints that financially ineligible beneficiaries and accounts of deceased persons were still receiving payments.Scrutiny of records revealed that 3,921 beneficiaries were income taxpayers, making them ineligible under the scheme’s guidelines. Another 304 beneficiaries had died, but payments continued in their names. Officials said all 4,225 names have been deleted from the beneficiary list, and efforts to identify ineligible beneficiaries are ongoing. The department is also recovering funds credited to the accounts of deceased beneficiaries.The exercise is expected to save the govt lakhs of rupees every month and crores annually, while improving transparency in the scheme’s implementation. Ballari currently has 2,94,857 beneficiaries under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which provides Rs 2,000 a month to eligible women.Women and child development department deputy director Ramakrishna Nayak said the process of removing ineligible beneficiaries is continuous and that recovery of payments made to deceased beneficiaries’ accounts is underway.