Over 14000 men in Maharashtra get money under Ladki Bahin Yojana for women; Dy CM Ajit Pawar promises action
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Over 14000 men in Maharashtra get money under Ladki Bahin Yojana for women; Dy CM Ajit Pawar promises action")
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Photograph: (PTI)
About 26 lakh ineligible beneficiaries, including over 14,000 men, have been barred from Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin scheme. Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the state will recover the amount disbursed to ineligible beneficiaries and take legal action if they do not cooperate.
Over 14,000 males had registered as women under the Maharashtra government’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana by using forged documents to avail the Rs 1,500 monthly assistance meant for economically disadvantaged women. The anomaly was detected in the Ladki Bahin Yojana besides several others, during a verification exercise. The verification, conducted by the Department of Information and Technology, flagged lakhs of entries where beneficiaries were found ineligible but continued to receive financial support under the scheme.
The Maharashtra government has now suspended 26.34 lakh beneficiaries from its flagship scheme after the verification exercise revealed large-scale irregularities. While some were availing benefits of multiple government schemes, more than two members of the same families were also found receiving benefits.
WCD minister seeks data from all departments
Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare issued a statement on Sunday, saying her department had sought data from all state departments to verify the eligibility of applicants under the scheme.
“Some beneficiaries were found to be availing of multiple government schemes. In other cases, families had more than two members receiving benefits. Shockingly, there were also instances where male applicants had been granted funds under the scheme,” Tatkare said.
After the verification, disbursement of funds to 26.34 lakh such accounts has been temporarily stopped from June 2025.
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The minister clarified that this was a precautionary suspension and that district collectors had been tasked with conducting a detailed review to determine the eligibility of the beneficiaries under the scheme. “Those found genuine will have their benefits restored,” Tatkare said.
The Opposition has targeted the government after the revelation that 14,298 men had availed of benefits under the scheme for women.
‘Money disbursed to wrongful beneficiaries will be recovered’
Responding to the criticism, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the state would recover the amounts disbursed to the wrongful beneficiaries and would take legal action if they failed to cooperate.
“This scheme was launched with a sincere intention to support poor women. It was never meant for men. Misuse will not be tolerated,” Pawar said.
The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched in August 2024 by the Eknath Shinde-led Maha Yuti Government ahead of the Assembly polls and offered a monthly dole to women aged between 21 and 65 years whose families earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually.
The scheme gained traction across the state especially in the run-up to the Assembly elections and was said to have led to victory of the Mahayuti.
During the campaigning for Assembly elections, Mahayuti leaders had also promised to raise the amount to Rs 2,100.
