Ladki Bahin scheme: NCP-SP claims ₹24,000 crore loss as ’80 lakh beneficiaries found ineligible’ | Today’s news
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) claimed the loss ₹24,000 crore after ineligible beneficiaries were found under the Maharashtra government’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme. The government claimed that verification found about 80 million women ineligible for benefits.
“How did the BJP-led government, which claims to be committed to transparency and good governance, allow such massive misuse of public money?” Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson (Sharadchandra Pawar) Mahesh Tapas was quoted as saying by PTI.
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“According to available data, nearly 81 million beneficiaries out of the total 2.47 million beneficiaries of the flagship program have been found ineligible after funds have already been disbursed,” he said.
“Those ineligible include approximately 14,000 men, nearly 10 million tax payers, 5 million government employees and several million vehicle owners,” Tapase added.
“Who approved the recipient verification process?”
Tapase questioned the state government over the lack of basic verification of those who want to be beneficiaries of the scheme.
“The people of Maharashtra deserve answers. Was it a social security scheme or an election campaign funded at taxpayers’ expense? The government, which distributed thousands of crores without even basic verification, cannot escape its moral responsibility,” noted Tapase.
“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s admission that the state government relied on self-certification instead of proper pre-election scrutiny is an admission of administrative failure,” he said.
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The NCP (SP) leader alleged, “Mahayuti’s government deliberately bypassed the necessary verification process with the intention of influencing the voters before the elections. This was not social justice, it was looting of taxpayers’ money and gaining political power by this misuse. Thus, the government caused an estimated loss ₹24,300 crores.”
Tapase demanded that the CM immediately disclose who approved the beneficiary verification process, who failed to identify the ineligible beneficiaries and what disciplinary or penal action will be taken against the officials responsible for this gross negligence.
“BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP must collectively accept moral responsibility for the financial loss and compensate the exchequer for the huge damage caused. Every rupee wasted belongs to the taxpayers of Maharashtra,” Tapase said.
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He said that ₹The 24,300 crore lost in the process would greatly improve the lives of millions of citizens as it could be used to provide permanent drinking water facilities to thousands of drought-affected villages, build irrigation infrastructure, strengthen rural road networks, upgrade district hospitals and upgrade infrastructure in government schools.
“Instead, the Mahayuti government chose politics over development and publicity over proper planning,” Tapase said.
What is the Ladki Bahin Yojana controversy?
The Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched in August 2024 under the Eknath Shinde-led government. Under this scheme, women in the age group of 21-60 can, subject to certain conditions, such as an annual family income limit of ₹2.5 million, get ₹1500 per month as financial assistance.
It was seen as one of the main reasons why the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the NCP, swept the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly.
The controversy erupted after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis denied allegations that the government had removed thousands of women from the cash transfer scheme, claiming that only ineligible beneficiaries were screened out through the verification process.
According to officials, about 80 thousand women have become ineligible for receiving benefits under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana process after the e-KYC process.
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Speaking to reporters ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, Fadnavis said the state government had carried out verification of the beneficiaries after the scheme was launched and several irregularities had come to light.
He noted that the audit revealed anomalies such as women from the families of government employees availing benefits and in some cases men making claims.
“When the scheme was introduced, women were allowed to self-verify their eligibility as many did not have enough time to submit documents. Verification was subsequently carried out as government expenditure is subject to audit,” he explained.
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“We have not excluded anyone. There were several criteria for eligibility. We have started the KYC process and identified beneficiaries who were either ineligible or had discrepancies in their records,” the CM said at an event organized by a regional news channel in Mumbai, PTI reported.
The chief minister said the verification exercise revealed that around 14,000 men, five lakh government employees, 10 lakh income tax payers and five lakh vehicle owners were receiving the benefits despite not fulfilling the eligibility criteria.
Fadnavis noted that beneficiaries who have not completed the mandatory KYC process and those found ineligible have been blocked from receiving payments under the scheme.
The CM said that errors were also found in the KYC details of about 25 lakh women beneficiaries and these records were subsequently corrected.
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“The government is ready to embark on the KYC process again. However, those who are not eligible will not get any money under the scheme,” he stressed.
A senior official was quoted by PTI as saying that the number of beneficiaries fell from 2.4 million to nearly 1.7 million after the April 30 e-KYC (Know Your Customer) deadline, but the disqualifications were also linked to non-compliance with the eligibility criteria of the scheme launched two years ago.
“Will not cancel the Ladki Bahin scheme”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday assured that the government will not end its flagship welfare scheme “Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin”, clarifying that 1.70 million eligible women will continue to receive benefits despite the recent elimination of millions of beneficiaries.
