Mumbai, Jul 30 (PTI) Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Wednesday said there were complaints of irregularities in the implementation of the ‘Shiv Bhojan’ scheme, and if the issues persist, it will have to be shut down.
The Shiv Bhojan thali scheme was launched by the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in 2020 for providing food at discounted rates to the poor and needy people and continued by the successive Mahayuti governments.
Talking to reporters, Bhujbal noted two lakh persons benefit from the Shiv Bhojan thalis everyday.
“Some centres (assigned to prepare the food) don’t give the requisite 100 thalis and some don’t give at all. I have asked the officials to ensure there are no irregularities, else the scheme will have to be shut down. But as of now, it will continue,” he said.
Bhujbal’s comments come against the backdrop of Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare admitting that nearly 26.34 lakh ineligible persons were availing benefits of the government’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme for providing a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women.
“It has been found that some beneficiaries were availing benefits of multiple schemes, some families had more than two beneficiaries, and in some cases, men had applied for the scheme,” Tatkare said in a post on X on July 26.
“Based on this information, starting from June 2025, the benefits for these 26.34 lakh applicants have been temporarily suspended. Additionally, approximately 2.25 crore eligible beneficiaries of the scheme have been disbursed the honorarium for the month of June 2025,” she said.
The information of the 26.34 lakh beneficiaries whose benefits have been temporarily suspended will be verified by the respective district collectors, and the benefits for those found eligible will be resumed by the government, the minister had said. PTI MR GK
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