With Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announcing that people will have to reapply to avail the Gruha Jyothi guarantee scheme, the Department of Energy is planning to link voter ID along with the Aadhaar and RR number of the respective electricity meters of consumers. The objective is to ensure that only voters from Karnataka benefit from the scheme.

A senior official from the Energy Department said, “There are a lot of people from other States who have voting rights in their State. They stay in Karnataka, mostly in rented accommodations, and benefit from the scheme. Therefore, when beneficiaries reapply, we are planning to ask them to link their voter ID along with Aadhaar and RR number. Mechanisms will be put in place to check if they are Karnataka voters or not.”

The official also added, “There are people from other States who have been living in Karnataka for many decades and also have voting rights here. In such instances, they can apply and benefit from the scheme.”

Many could lose out

However, many Karnataka citizens have said they will lose out on the scheme if this is implemented. Aravind (name changed), a resident of Banashankari, said, “I do not have a voter ID and always vote using my Aadhaar card. In that case, I will lose my Gruha Jyothi benefits.”

Another resident from R.T. Nagar said, “There are lakhs of people who migrate to Bengaluru for various reasons. I shifted from Mysuru to Bengaluru long ago. Though I have a voter ID registered in Mysuru, I have not exercised my franchise in either city. In addition, the house I own is in my wife’s name, and she, too, does not have a voter ID. So far, I have been paying ₹200 to ₹300 per month for electricity. If the government brings in the new rules, I will end up paying more.”

In response, an official in the Energy Department said, “We do not have an exact figure for non-voters and cannot say how many people are likely to lose Gruha Jyothi benefits. In future, it will be mandatory for Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries to have a voter ID registered in Karnataka. It does not matter whether they have exercised their franchise in recent years or not.”

At present, 1.67 crore people are benefiting from the Gruha Jyothi scheme. As per the latest data from the Energy Department, the government has released a subsidy of ₹5,830 crore in 2022–23, ₹9,158 crore in 2024-25, ₹10,260 crore in 2025-26, and ₹1,762 crore in 2026–27 (till May 31) to electricity supply companies.

Emphasising the subsidy outlay, the official said, “At present, the government pays ₹800 crore to ₹1,000 crore as subsidy for the scheme. If the government can save even ₹200 crore from this subsidy, the money can be utilised for other infrastructure works of the department.”

Under the scheme, free electricity is supplied every month, subject to a maximum consumption limit of 200 units. This will continue in the same manner, the official added.

Smart card to beneficiaries?

Similar to the Transport Department’s plan to issue smart cards under the Shakti scheme for beneficiaries, the Energy Department is also planning to issue smart cards. The card will carry details of beneficiaries, including RR number, Aadhaar number and voter ID. However, officials are yet to frame guidelines on how these cards will operate when beneficiaries shift or change houses.