With Karnataka government clearly stipulating eligibility criterion for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, families have no fresh window to choose a new woman head to avail the scheme under which beneficiaries are paid ₹2,000 a month.
The guidelines released by the government on Tuesday, June 6, stated that women who were already enrolled as Yajamani (head of the family) in Antyodaya, Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) ration cards, are eligible for the scheme. The guideline nowhere mentions that it will create fresh scope to decide a new head among women in families. This effectively means the government has pre-decided on the beneficiaries, going by what is stated in ration cards.
Woman is the head by norm
A few years back, the government decided to name the eldest woman of the family as the head with a view to plug misuse of various government benefits by men. For example, in a family of three with a son, daughter-in-law and mother, by default, the mother, who is elder to the daughter-in-law, will be chosen by the Food and Civil Supplies Department as the head of the family. The benefits will be handed over in her name.
Hence, in the Gruha Lakshmi scheme too, the elder women members of the families are set to benefit. Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Minister, Child and Women Development, talking to The Hindu, said that in over 85% of ration cards, the elderly woman member of the family is marked as the head and she will be paid ₹2,000. The ration card will also be linked with a bank account to avoid duplication and money will be credited directly into her account.
Ms. Hebbalkar further said as already the head is identified, there is no scope for the families to now make any changes in names of the beneficiaries. In families which do not have women members, the elder male is declared as head.
No changes for this scheme
A senior IAS officer who worked with the Food and Civil Supplies Department said that now, families cannot make changes to the ration card as the State rules mandate elderly women to be mentioned as head in the cards. Changes will be entertained only in case of death or living under different roofs separating from the families. The officer said the ration card has come as a major advantage to set eligibility criteria for the scheme.
It should be noted that this is in contrary to what Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar have been saying earlier. Both have been maintaining that the decision to “choose beneficiaries” is left to the families.
