Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Yojana Faces Major Disturbance After 90 Lakh Beneficiaries Were Removed

The Maharashtra government's welfare programme for women, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, has undergone a severe revision after almost 90 lakh beneficiaries were removed from the eligibility list. This was done post a statewide audit, which has also sparked major debates about eligibility, verification and efficiency of the administration.

What Is The Aim Of The Scheme

The scheme was designed to financially support women from the economically vulnerable segments in Maharashtra. Launched in mid-2024, it offers assistance to women between the ages of 21 and 65 years old. The eligibility here is the age and their total annual family income, which should be under Rs 2.50 lakh. These women are eligible to receive this assistance monthly. The marital status of women is not applicable; they can be married, single, widowed, or abandoned.

Ever since the introduction of the scheme, thousands of women across Maharashtra have enrolled themselves and benefited from it, making it an effective and successful scheme.

What Went Wrong While Auditing?

Recent reports from Mint suggest that the Maharashtra government has removed almost 90 lakh names from the beneficiary list. Officials describe this as a digital purge; as a result, the scheme's coverage has dropped significantly. The large-scale removal was followed by a detailed audit, which used a digital verification system to cross-check the applicant data with the income tax records. In addition to the income discrepancies, the audit recorded duplicate or multiple registrations, incomplete documentation, and even male applicants who fraudulently registered themselves under the scheme. More than 12,000 men were reportedly identified among the list of beneficiaries.

Most Affected District

Among all the districts, Beed in the Marathwada region has been the most disturbed by this verification drive. The audit reportedly found 2.83 lakh women who were ineligible. This number made the district with the highest number of removals. This steep drop has created confusion and concern among many women who are legitimate in their intent and wait for these payments to meet their financial needs.

Future Implications

While the government emphasises that this cleanup exercise was needed to prevent misuse, critics argue that the sudden removal of such a large number of people from the beneficiary list could harm the vulnerable families, if, due to some oversight, genuine applicants were removed.

Overall, this marked a turning point for the Ladki Bahin Yojana. As the government continues to refine the verification process, the effectiveness will depend on maintaining transparency and accuracy.