The Maharashtra government has acknowledged that nearly ₹35 crore was wrongly claimed by ineligible beneficiaries under the Laadki Bahin scheme, including 14,298 men.
In a written reply in the legislative council, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare revealed that around 26 lakh applicants who received benefits did not meet the eligibility criteria. Among them were 1,526 government employees who collectively claimed ₹14.5 crore. The audit also uncovered that 14,298 men had received money under the scheme, which is exclusively meant for women.
Aditi Tatkare confirmed that the state will recover the amount from the men who availed of the benefit. Her reply came in response to questions raised by several MLCs. She clarified that the government has not introduced any new conditions or criteria for the scheme. “If government employees or men have taken the benefit, the amount will be recovered from them. At the same time, the cabinet has decided that those who were removed from the scheme voluntarily or for other reasons will not face forced recovery,” Tatkare said.
Back in July, Tatkare had announced that her department had initiated a thorough verification exercise by collecting data from all government departments. The IT department later flagged that about 26.3 lakh recipients had continued to draw benefits despite being ineligible.
According to officials, some individuals were receiving benefits under multiple schemes, some families had more than two beneficiaries, and in several cases, men had submitted applications for Laadki Bahin. Since June, payments to the 26.3 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have been paused, while around 2.2 crore eligible women continued receiving the June instalment.
The Laadki Bahin scheme provides monthly financial support to married, divorced, widowed, deserted and destitute women aged 21 to 65, with an annual family income below ₹2.5 lakh and domicile status in the state. One unmarried woman from each household may also qualify.
The scheme was widely credited for boosting the Mahayuti alliance’s performance in the 2024 assembly elections. After taking charge in December 2024, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a detailed review of the beneficiary list.
