Laadki Bahin scheme: Maharashtra govt to recover dole from 14,000+ men; 1.5k staffers took Rs 14.5cr

NAGPUR: The state govt has admitted that ineligible beneficiaries took close to Rs 35 crore through the Laadki Bahin scheme, which provides a stipend of Rs 1,500 per month to women from low income families.

There were 26 lakh ineligible beneficiaries in all, of which 1,526 were govt employees who took Rs 14.5 crore. A total of 14,298 men also took money under the scheme, women & child development minister Aditi Tatkare said in a written reply in the legislative council to queries.A decision has been taken to recover the amount from govt employees and men who have availed the benefits, she said, adding the department concerned has been informed to take action under the Maharashtra Civil Service Rules and recover the amount.A total of 14,298 men received money under the Laadki Bahin scheme meant for women and that amount will be recovered from them, women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare said in a written reply in the legislative council to queries raised by MLCs Pradnya Satav, Satej Patil, Ashok Jagtap, Praveen Darekar and Niranjan Davkhare, among others.“No new eligibility norms or terms and conditions have been included under this scheme.

If it is found that govt employees as well as men have availed benefits, a decision has been taken to recover the amount from them... Also, a decision has been taken in the cabinet not to forcibly recover the financial benefit amount from beneficiaries who have been excluded voluntarily or for any other reason,” Tatkare said in her reply.In July, Tatkare had said her department had undertaken scrutiny of the scheme by seeking information from all govt departments.

The IT department reported that approximately 26.3 lakh beneficiaries availed of benefits despite being ineligible.“It has been found that some beneficiaries were availing benefits of multiple schemes. Some families had more than two beneficiaries. And in some cases, men applied for the scheme,” she had said on X. Since June, the benefits of the 26.3 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have been temporarily suspended.

Around 2.2 crore eligible applicants received the stipend for the month of June.The Laadki Bahin scheme provides a stipend of Rs 1,500 per month to married, divorced, widowed, deserted, and destitute women, aged between 21 and 65, whose annual family income is below Rs 2.5 lakh and who are domiciled. One eligible unmarried woman from each family is also considered. The Laadki Bahin scheme was among the factors which powered the Mahayuti to a landslide win in the 2024 assembly polls.Soon after he took charge in Dec 2024, CM Fadnavis announced beneficiaries would be scrutinised. By Feb 2025, the state dropped five lakh ineligible beneficiaries. This included those who had crossed the age of 65 and beneficiaries under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, which also provides a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500. Beneficiaries of Laadki Bahin Yojana can avail of benefits under another govt scheme only if the combined benefit does not exceed Rs 1,500.