Glitches in Gruha Jyothi 2.0 App Allow Invalid Documents in Bengaluru

Meter readers conducting door-to-door verification for the Gruha Jyothi welfare scheme in Bengaluru neighborhoods, including Malleswaram and Ganganagar, have reported serious technical glitches in the state Energy Department's Gruha Jyothi 2.0 mobile application. The app is reportedly accepting incorrect, invalid, and mismatched photos and documents without any validation checks or error prompts during the ongoing beneficiary verification process.

According to field workers, the absence of basic validation features in the mobile application has raised significant concerns about the accuracy, validity, and credibility of the verification drive.

A meter reader operating in Malleswaram explained that the application completely fails to validate uploaded documents. The reader stated that the app accepted a photo of a blank sheet of paper instead of a tenant's rental agreement without prompting any error or rejection, whereas standard mobile applications typically reject invalid uploads.

In Ganganagar, another meter reader discovered that the app lacks verification controls for beneficiary photographs. The reader reported that the app accepted a photograph of a female beneficiary's father in her absence without any objection.

A meter reader in Munireddy Palya pointed out that while the application uses GPS to capture the exact location of the meter readers to ensure they do not perform the verification from their homes or offices, it fails to alert them when incorrect photos are captured.

Furthermore, the system is reportedly accepting details from non-voters of Karnataka, despite a previous announcement by the Chief Minister that the scheme would be restricted to state voters. A meter reader in North Bengaluru reported that the application successfully accepted Aadhaar and Voter ID details showing a Madhya Pradesh address without rejecting the entry.

Addressing these concerns, an official from the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) stated that meter readers are not supposed to upload incorrect photos. The official warned that the department will pull up the respective meter readers if incorrect photos are found after the verification is completed, noting that GPS tracking was specifically enabled to monitor the readers' locations during data entry.