Following complaints, the Maharashtra government on January 2 decided to take action against bogus beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. To verify the claims, it has requested information from the Inco༺me Tax and Transport Departments.
Aditi Tatkare, the state’s Women and Child Development Minister, announced that the government will only address com꧅plaints related to fraudulent beneficiaries.
The Mukyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, launched by the previous Eknath Shinde-led government in August of last year, provides eligible women with a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500. The scheme is believed to have significantly contributed to the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance which consisted of Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) in the 2024 assembly elections. However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later suggested that the beneficiar♔ieꦐs of the scheme would undergo scrutiny.
"The Maharashtra government is not taking any drive to scrutinise the beneficiaries of the Ladk𝔍i Bahin Yojana. We have not changed any government policies. We are only addressing the complaints filed with local government offices," PTI quoted Tatkare. Earlier, she had said that no scrutiny would be conducted regarding the beneficiaries of the scheme.
"We have sought data from the Income Tax Department and the State Transport Department as some complaints involve beneficiar⛦ies with income above the set threshold or who own a four-wheeler. Once we receive this data, we will be able to address those complaints," she said.
When asked about how many of the 2.5 crore beneficiaries could be removed from the scheme following the scrutiny, she said, "We do not have any data about how many beneficiaries will be omitted from the scheme. It is not available in percentage either. We need some time to get a fair idea about it.𒊎"
"We've encountered issues such as Aadhaar mismatches with some applications being submitted multiple times. Then there is a domicile issue, wherein ben♚eficiaries hailing from Maharashtra moved elsewhere a💖fter marriage. For example, some women have relocated to Karnataka after getting married," she said.
She st♈ated that local officials had received reports of beneficiaries subm൲itting fraudulent documents to claim benefits.
Some beneficiaries have also informed the state government that they wish to withdraw from the scheme after securing go🍃vernment jobs. Regarding beneficiaries who are receivℱing financial support from other schemes, she clarified, "If a beneficiary is enrolled in another government scheme, we will only provide the remaining amount to match the total. For example, if a woman receives Rs 1,000 from one scheme and then joins the Ladki Bahin scheme, she will receive Rs 500 from the state government instead of the full Rs 1,500."
Complaints have emerged from districts such as Palghar, Yavatmal, Wardha, and Phaltan in Sata💜ra, prompting the ministry to initiate a cross-verification process.
