The beneficiary verification drive in Karnataka's Gruha Jyothi Scheme has been going ahead across Shivamogga district, but server downtime is a big hurdle for MESCOM (Mangalore Electricity Supply Company) employees who are running the exercise.
The Gruha Jyothi scheme is one of the flagship welfare programs of the Karnataka Government that offers up to 200 units of free electricity to eligible domestic consumers. Beneficiary details are being verified through a mobile application. But technical glitches make the process a time-consuming one for both field staff and consumers.
Verification With a New Mobile App
To facilitate beneficiary verification, the government has developed a mobile application that allows MESCOM staff to collect and upload information during door-to-door visits.
The verification process consists of five steps:
- Recording the beneficiary's Aadhaar details.
- Verifying information from the Voter ID.
- Checking the Ration Card details.
- Capturing a live photograph of the beneficiary.
- Forming a physical verification form and getting the beneficiary's signature or thumb impression as a record.
Only after all these steps are completed can the beneficiary's details be successfully uploaded to the system.
Server Downtime Disrupts Field Work
According to MESCOM employees, the biggest challenge is the repeated server failure while uploading beneficiary information.
Staff members say they often complete most of the verification process, only for the application to freeze or log out while uploading the final photograph. When this happens, they are forced to log in again using a fresh OTP and repeat the entire verification process from the beginning.
The repeated interruptions have greatly increased the time to complete each household visit, with employees spending anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour at a single location, they said.
Morning and Late-night Visits to Avoid Technical Glitches
To relieve server congestion during peak hours, some MESCOM staff have started visiting consumers early in the morning or late at night.
During these off-peak hours, employees say the application operates more smoothly, and data can be uploaded without any interruption. But the unusual visit times have inconvenienced beneficiaries, with many families having no access to or not having the time to receive officials outside of work hours.
Need for Stronger Digital Infrastructure
Field staff believes server issues are primarily due to increased statewide usage of the verification application, which leads to heavy traffic and reduced system performance.
They have urged the authorities to strengthen the application's backend infrastructure by:
- Increasing server capacity.
- Improving application stability.
- Providing backup server support.
- Reducing login and OTP-related interruptions.
- Ensuring faster data synchronization.
Calls for Immediate Government Intervention
MESCOM employees and residents have appealed to the Karnataka government to resolve the technical issues at the earliest.
While they acknowledge that the Gruha Jyothi Scheme has helped lakhs of households by reducing electricity expenses, they point out that some technical problems could put a hold on the smooth implementation of the beneficiary verification process.
As a result, citizens have asked the Chief Minister and the Energy Department to work with technical experts to update the application and improve the digital infrastructure, ensuring that a welfare scheme intended to help the public is not hampered by avoidable technology-related problems.
