Maharashtra minister announces scrutiny of ‘Ladki Bahin’ beneficiaries after complaints

Mumbai, Jan 3 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has decided to act on complaints about bogus beneficiaries of the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’, and sought information from the Income Tax Department and Transport Department for their verification.

Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, who made this announcement on Thursday, made it clear that the government would only address complaints regarding the bogus beneficiaries.

Under the Mukyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, launched by the previous Eknath Shinde-led government in August last year, eligible women are provided a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500.

The scheme is said to have played a key role in the victory of the ruling Mahayuti in the November 20 elections. However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later indicated that there would be a scrutiny of the scheme beneficiaries.

“The Maharashtra government is not taking any drive to scrutinise the beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana. We have not changed any government policies. We are only addressing the complaints filed with local government offices,” Tatkare said.

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 beneficiaries with income above the set threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh annually or those 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." “We’ve encountered issues such as Aadhaar mismatches with some applications being submitted multiple times. Then there is a domicile issue, wherein beneficiaries hailing from Maharashtra moved elsewhere after marriage. For example, some women have relocated to Karnataka after getting married,” she said.

She said local officials had received reports of beneficiaries submitting false documents to claim benefits.

Some beneficiaries have informed the state government that they wish to withdraw their names from the scheme after securing government jobs, the minister added.

Asked about beneficiaries receiving financial support from other schemes, Tatkare said if an eligible woman seeks assistance from another government scheme, she would be provided only the balance assistance.

“For instance, if a woman receives Rs 1,000 under one scheme and then enrols in the Ladki Bahin scheme, she will receive Rs 500 from the state government instead of the entire Rs 1,500,” she said.

Complaints have emerged from districts such as Palghar, Yavatmal, Wardha, and Phaltan in Satara, prompting the ministry to initiate a cross-verification process. PTI