Ladli Behna scheme turned out to be ‘very expensive’, says Madhya Pradesh CM

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. File image: @DrMohanYadav51

The Ladli Behna Yojana, under which eligible women receive a monthly allowance of ₹1,500, has turned out to be a “very expensive” affair, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said. While the remarks were made in a light-hearted manner, they again focused on the financial burden of the BJP government’s flagship.

Speaking at the ‘Bundeli Samagam’ event held at Bhopal’s Ravindra Bhavan on Sunday (October 4, 2026), Mr Yadav made the remarks when a young content creator asked him about the government’s plans for young girls under the Ladli Behna scheme, which caters to women above the age of 18.

“Don’t you know, Ladli Behna itself has turned out to be very expensive. This is a very internal matter. I had no idea that after becoming the chief minister, you get such a heavy burden,” Mr Yadav told Bundeli content creator Binnu Rani.

“But we said it is not a problem as far as our sisters are concerned. The journey started with ₹1,000. There was considerable difficulty in the beginning, but now we provide up to ₹1,500. Don’t worry. You are too young to qualify for Ladli Behna at the moment. Grow a little more and then we will give it to you with a smile.”

A petition was also filed in the Gwalior Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court last month seeking closure of the scheme while questioning its financial accountability to the exchequer and accusing it of election-related freebies. The suit, filed by Sudha Dubey, a former Gwalior councilor with the Congress, questioned whether any independent and comprehensive assessment had been carried out to show that the program had provided women with lasting financial independence.

The Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana, a flagship scheme of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government, was launched by former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in March 2023 with an amount of ₹1,000 per month. In October of that year, the amount was raised to ₹1,250, a month before the assembly vote. The BJP also promised to increase the amount to ₹3,000 per month in its election manifesto.

The scheme, which will benefit about 1.31 million women in 2023, is believed to have helped the BJP face anti-incumbency in the assembly elections and return to power with a massive majority. The scheme has seen one hike since the election, with Mr Chouhan’s successor Mohan Yadav raising it to ₹1,500 from November 2025.

The budget allocation for this scheme for FY2026-27 was ₹23,882 crore.

The government also faced criticism for halting new registrations from the 2023 elections, with the number of beneficiaries falling to around 1.25 million, according to the 40th installment paid in September 2026, when Mr Yadav transferred ₹1,835 million to beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

Mr Yadav had also said in September that more than ₹58,000 crore had been disbursed to beneficiaries since the scheme began.

Published – 7 Oct 2026 01:55 IST