Tax-paying women out of Gruha Lakshmi: Karnataka govt

Tax-paying women will not get Rs 2,000 per month under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme whose guidelines were issued by the Karnataka government on Tuesday.

Under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, the woman head of the household will get Rs 2,000 per month. This is expected to cover 1.2 crore women at an estimated cost of Rs 25,000-30,000 crore.

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Only those women identified as the 'yajamani' (female head) of a household in the Antyodaya, BPL and APL cards issued by the Department of Food & Civil Supplies will come under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, an executive order issued by the Department of Women & Child Development said.

The woman head of the household or her husband paying income tax or filing GST returns will be excluded from the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, the order said.

Only one woman in a family will get the cash benefit. Eligible women must apply for the benefit between June 15 and July 15. Applications can be submitted online via the Seva Sindhu portal (sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in) and physically, too.

Women selected under the scheme will receive money on August 15. Women must ensure their bank accounts are seeded with Aadhaar, the order said.

Approvals will be given based on a self-declaration submitted by women. If it is found that women provided false information to receive the cash benefit, then action will be initiated, including recovery of the money that was paid to them, the order warned.