1 week ago
Maharashtra Paid ₹9,605 Crore to Ineligible Ladki Bahin Beneficiaries
Maharashtra gives eligible women ₹1,500 each month through the Ladki Bahin scheme.
The government later checked whether people receiving the money followed the rules.
An RTI response said 9.2 million recipients were later found to be ineligible.
Many had not completed an identity-check process called e-KYC.
Others had incomes above the limit, were over the age limit, already received another benefit, or had a government job.
Some families also had more than one person enrolled.
The government removed many of these recipients from the scheme.
It plans to seek repayment from government employees and officers, but generally not from other ineligible recipients.
An RTI response reported that Maharashtra paid ₹9,605 crore to 9.2 million beneficiaries later found ineligible under the Ladki Bahin scheme.
Of those removed, 6.2 million had not completed e-KYC and 1.6 million exceeded the ₹2.5 lakh annual family-income limit.
Other exclusions involved overlapping benefits, duplicate family enrollment, age-limit violations, government employment, and district-level verification.
The beneficiary count fell from as many as 24.72 million to about 16.57 million after verification and the e-KYC deadline.
The government plans to recover payments from 450,000 government employees and officers, but not from most other ineligible recipients.
- Who
- The Maharashtra government, women enrolled in the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, and government employees and officers who received payments.
- What
- RTI data reported that ₹9,605 crore was paid to 9.2 million beneficiaries later classified as ineligible, leading to removals and a planned recovery from government employees and officers.
- Where
- Maharashtra, India.
- When
- The reports cover payments and verification through June 2026; they cite the April 30 e-KYC deadline and payments through November 2025. The articles differ on whether the scheme began in June or August 2024.
- Why
- Recipients were removed for missing e-KYC, exceeding the income limit, receiving another welfare benefit, duplicate family enrollment, being over 65, holding government jobs, or failing district-level verification.
Accountability and Financial-Strain Concerns
Verification and Targeted Recovery Response
Scale of irregular payments
Accountability and Financial-Strain Concerns
The reported RTI figures indicate that ₹9,605 crore was paid to 9.2 million people who were later found ineligible, raising concerns about oversight and public spending.
Verification and Targeted Recovery Response
The government says its verification process removed millions of recipients and reduced the beneficiary count from as many as 24.72 million to about 16.57 million.
Recovery of funds
Accountability and Financial-Strain Concerns
Critics may point to the large payments already made to recipients who did not meet the scheme’s conditions and question why most funds will not be recovered.
Verification and Targeted Recovery Response
The government plans to recover payments from 450,000 government employees and officers, while officials said money would not be recovered from other ineligible recipients.
Reason for reducing beneficiaries
Accountability and Financial-Strain Concerns
Opposition leaders alleged that the government was reducing the beneficiary count because of financial constraints, while reports also cited concerns about pressure on state finances.
Verification and Targeted Recovery Response
Government officials attributed the removals to missed e-KYC, eligibility-rule violations, and verification findings, and a minister said the scheme would not be discontinued.
Key facts
- Monthly benefit
- ₹1,500 per eligible woman through Direct Benefit Transfer.
- Reported ineligible beneficiaries
- 9.2 million, or 92 lakh, recipients.
- Payments to ineligible recipients
- ₹9,605 crore through 64.03 million excess credit entries, according to the reported RTI data.
- Current eligible beneficiaries
- About 16.57 million women, or approximately 1.6 crore.
- Total scheme spending
- ₹76,261 crore over 24 months.
- Eligibility income limit
- Annual family income below ₹2.5 lakh.
- Planned recovery
- Recovery is planned from 450,000 government employees and officers who received payments.
Quotes
State women and child development department official
An official from the Maharashtra department overseeing the Ladki Bahin scheme
“We have written to the district collectorates to recover the money taken by government employees and officers and have sought a report. There are 450,000 such beneficiaries who had received benefits during the initial months, and recovery is due from them. The money will not be recovered from the other beneficiaries.”
livemint.com
“The decision was announced by the chief minister ahead of the monsoon session of the state legislature in June.”
livemint.com
Sources
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