‘Gruha Lakshmi’ will not smile on I-T-paying women

Women whose spouses are paying Income Tax or filing GST too are ineligible for Rs. 2,000 a month

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Government has released guidelines for the ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ scheme, which offers monthly financial assistance of Rs. 2,000 to women.

This programme aims to support women who are recognised as heads of households and hold Antyodaya, BPL or APL cards for their families. To be eligible, it is required that the woman or her spouse does not pay Income Tax (I-T) or file GST.

The Government Order has cautioned that strict action will be taken against individuals providing incorrect information. As previously announced, only one woman per family can avail of this scheme and registration can be completed either online or offline from June 15 to July 15. The scheme’s implementation is scheduled for Independence Day (Aug. 15).

The scheme’s guidelines were issued on Tuesday, outlining the eligibility criteria and application process. According to the guidelines, only women identified as the ‘yajamani’ or female head of households in the Antyodaya, BPL and APL cards issued by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies will be eligible. The aim is to cover approximately 1.2 crore women, with an estimated cost ranging from Rs. 25,000 crore to Rs. 30,000 crore. Furthermore, the executive order from the Department of Women and Child Development stated that women who pay income tax or file GST returns, either themselves or through their husbands, will be excluded from the scheme.

Under the ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ scheme, only one woman per family will receive the cash benefit. Eligible women are required to apply for the scheme between June 15 and July 15 and applications can be submitted online through the Seva Sindhu portal (sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in) or in person.

Selected women will receive financial assistance on Aug. 15. It is important for women to ensure that their bank accounts are linked with Aadhaar, as stated in the order.

The approval process will be based on the self-declaration submitted by the women. The order emphasised that if it is discovered that false information was provided to receive the cash benefit, appropriate action will be taken, including the recovery of the funds disbursed to them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Beneficiary must compulsorily have a Below Poverty Line (BPL) or Above Poverty Line (APL) or Antyodaya card.
• A woman must possess cards clearly mentioning her as ‘Yejamani’ of family.
• If there are multiple women in the household, only one will get the benefits.
• Women paying Income Tax or filing for GST returns not eligible.
• Woman’s husband who pays Income Tax or GST returns not eligible.
• Eligible women can apply to claim benefits of the scheme on the sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in website from June 15 to July 15.
• Women can also physically apply for the scheme at Government Offices.
• The Government will start giving out money from Aug. 15.
• Applicants must link their Aadhaar cards with bank accounts.