Mumbai, Jul 13 (PTI) Around 81 lakh registered beneficiaries have been removed from Maharashtra government’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme following a multi-month e-KYC verification drive, Minister Aditi Tatkare said on Monday, even as Opposition parties alleged irregularities in its implementation.
The women and child development minister stressed that the e-KYC process was mandatory to systematically weed out ineligible registrations, income-tax payers, and families of government employees, who are not covered under the scheme.
“When the scheme was launched, 2.63 crore persons had registered to avail its benefits, and of them, 2.47 crore women became beneficiaries and received monthly financial assistance. Once the department started e-KYC to filter out non-eligible beneficiaries, the number started shrinking further,” she told reporters.
The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, announced by the government on June 28, 2024, aims to ensure women’s economic independence. Under the scheme, eligible women aged between 21 and 65 years receive Rs 1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer.
Asked about media reports claiming removal of 93 lakh beneficiaries, Tatkare said, “After the e-KYC drive, the number of beneficiaries had reached 1.67 to 1.7 crore. If you subtract this figure from the number of people who had registered for the scheme at the time of its launch, you get 92 to 93 lakh.
“But in reality, the state disbursed the stipend to 2.47 crore women, and the rest were found to be ineligible right from the start,” the minister added.
She stated that around 62 lakh women, who had registered for the scheme and received benefits, did not complete the e-KYC process despite repeated extensions.
“Around 16 lakh beneficiaries were found to have annual family income exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh, while 4.42 lakh were declared ineligible because a family member was a government employee,” Tatkare said, adding that even some men and government employees had registered for the scheme and received benefits.
She added that the e-KYC process had started in August 2025 and beneficiaries were given six months to complete it, with assistance extended till April to rectify deficiencies.
Complaints from women who completed e-KYC but did not receive benefits are also being verified, she said.
The minister further said the government had begun recovering money from government employees around eight to 10 months ago and that the recovered amount was being deposited with the treasury.
The Opposition parties, meanwhile, stepped up their attack against the government, alleging that the scheme, launched months before the 2024 assembly elections, was used as a political inducement.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the money disbursed to 92 lakh beneficiaries should be recovered from the then chief secretary, finance secretary, women and child development secretary and the entire cabinet.
“Their personal property should be seized, and money should be recovered,” Raut said while claiming that the scheme will be eventually disbanded.
State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged irregularities in the scheme’s implementation.
“The government allocated Rs 29,693 crore for the scheme but spent Rs 3,541 crore more than the approved budget without maintaining any record or account of the additional expenditure. Is this a government or a gang of robbers?” he asked.
Sapkal further alleged that expenditure on women’s welfare schemes had increased from Rs 261.78 crore to Rs 33,554 crore in 2024-25, while spending on housing schemes fell by 54 per cent and expenditure on water supply and sanitation declined by 31.81 per cent.
Congress MP and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad alleged that the government declared women as “beloved sisters” before the elections but rendered them ineligible after coming to power.
“If these women were ineligible, why were they given benefits till now? And if they were eligible, why have they now been removed from the scheme? Were the rules ignored before the elections to secure votes and invoked later because of financial stress?” she questioned.
Taking to X, NCP (SP) spokesperson Ravikant Varpe said that the scheme was introduced to win women’s trust and votes, but that the government has shown “more than 92 lakh women the exit door”.
“The number of beneficiaries has fallen from 2.4 crore, with nearly 38 per cent of women now excluded. Were these women eligible before the elections and suddenly ineligible afterwards? Was this a welfare scheme or merely an election gimmick?” he asked.
MNS spokesperson Anil Shidore described the development as “disturbing”.
“The removal of lakhs of beneficiaries means thousands of crores of rupees were spent on ineligible beneficiaries. These include 4.42 lakh family members of government employees, 29,000 men and 8,000 government employees.
The CAG has also pointed to an excess expenditure of Rs 3,541 crore over the planned outlay. The scheme was announced in June 2024; two instalments were paid in August, and assembly elections followed immediately. It is easy for aware citizens to draw their own conclusions,” he stated in an X post. PTI ND PR ARU NSK
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