Will You Lose Your Free Electricity-Gruha Jyoti Verification Crackdown Facing Major Delays

The Karnataka government’s mandatory door-to-door verification drive for the Gruha Jyoti free electricity scheme is progressing at a sluggish pace across Belagavi district, triggering anxiety among thousands of consumers who fear losing their scheme benefits.

With an August 31 deadline looming to weed out ineligible applicants, officials from the Hubballi Electricity Supply Company (HESCOM) have managed to complete verification for only 5.46 lakh out of the district’s 10.05 lakh beneficiaries—just over 54%.

Tech Snags and Server Loads

Field staff attempting to register details on the Seva Sindhu portal report frequent server crashes, high network latency, and data upload failures. The technical bottlenecks have forced residents and officials to wait hours just to process basic documents.

To overcome home absence during working hours, HESCOM staff have adopted a temporary setup—holding verification camps inside neighborhood temples and community halls.

Rental Document Confusion Drives Anxiety

The audit has particularly panicked low-income families and labourers living in rented housing without formal rental agreements. Many fear that the lack of paperwork will lead to their exclusion from the scheme.

Addressing these concerns, Praveenkumar C, Superintending Engineer (Electrical), HESCOM Belagavi, clarified that tenants lacking formal agreements can fill out a dedicated form provided by HESCOM free of charge.

What Beneficiaries Need to Submit:

• Aadhaar Card
• Passport-size Photograph
• Voter ID Card
• Electricity Bills
• Ration Card
• Rental Agreement (or the free HESCOM self-declaration form)

HESCOM maintains that despite technical hiccups, more than half the district is cleared, and work is ongoing to meet the August deadline.