92 Lakh Women Removed From Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin Scheme After Verification, Majority Failed eKYC

Last Updated:July 13, 2026, 09:30 IST

Over 92 lakh beneficiaries have been removed from Maharashtra's Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana after the CAG has flagged financial irregularities.

Nearly four out of every 10 beneficiaries enrolled under Maharashtra’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana have been removed following a statewide verification exercise, with government records reviewed by The Indian Express showing that more than 92 lakh women have been dropped from the scheme.

According to the report, the number of beneficiaries removed after verification is significantly higher than the nearly 80 lakh deletions that the Maharashtra government has publicly disclosed so far.

The exercise found that most of those excluded had failed to complete the mandatory electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process, while others were declared ineligible on account of income, age, employment status or duplication of benefits.

Officials associated with the verification exercise estimated that the beneficiaries who were later removed had collectively received around Rs 14,000 crore before payments were discontinued.

On average, those whose benefits were stopped had received assistance for nearly 10 months, although there was no uniform cut-off as beneficiaries were identified at different stages of the verification process, the newspaper reported.

The findings assume significance as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has also raised concerns over the financial management of the scheme in its State Finances Audit Report 2024-25.

Another 16 lakh beneficiaries, or around 17 per cent, belonged to families whose annual income exceeded the scheme’s eligibility ceiling of Rs 2.5 lakh.

The verification also found that around 4.42 lakh beneficiaries declared during scrutiny that they or a family member were government employees, making them ineligible under the scheme.

Further, around 3.6 lakh women were already receiving benefits under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, while nearly 2.5 lakh cases involved more than two members from the same family drawing benefits.

Nearly 1.8 lakh beneficiaries were found to be above the upper age limit of 65 years, while another 1.7 lakh cases were flagged during district-level verification.

Separately, the exercise identified nearly 29,000 men and around 8,000 government employees who had also received benefits despite being ineligible, according to the report.

Responding to the findings, Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare was quoted as saying that the mandatory eKYC exercise could not begin immediately after the scheme’s launch because of the Assembly election schedule and the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.

“The scheme was launched in June 2024, and the first two instalments were released together in August 2024. After that, there were Assembly elections in November 2024, and the Model Code of Conduct came into force before October, because of which the eKYC exercise could not be started earlier, Tatkare said.

“We decided on the exercise in August 2025 after the new government came into place and repeatedly announced that payments of beneficiaries who did not complete eKYC would be stopped," Tatkare added.

She said beneficiaries were repeatedly given opportunities to complete the verification process, including extensions till December 31, 2025, before payments were stopped.

On whether the government would recover money from ineligible beneficiaries, Tatkare said, “Even CM sir (Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis) has announced in the Assembly that except for the male beneficiaries and government staffers, money wouldn’t be recovered from any other beneficiaries."

CAG FLAGS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF THE SCHEME

Separately, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged excess expenditure and financial management deficiencies in the implementation of the Ladki Bahin scheme.

According to the CAG State Finances Audit Report 2024-25, tabled in the Maharashtra legislature on Friday, the Women and Child Development Department spent Rs 33,237.24 crore on the scheme against an authorised budget of Rs 29,693.09 crore, resulting in an excess expenditure of Rs 3,541.16 crore, PTI reported.

The audit report said the department did not provide any specific justification for the excess spending.

The CAG also noted that Rs 15,586 crore, drawn between January and March 2025, was transferred to Virtual Personal Deposit Accounts (VPDAs).

It termed the practice a serious financial irregularity, saying the large-scale withdrawal indicated that the funds were not required for immediate use and were drawn from the treasury without actual expenditure needs.

According to PTI, the CAG observed that the implementation of the scheme was marked by “significant deficiencies in budget estimation, expenditure control, and financial management".

It recommended a more realistic assessment of beneficiary coverage and fund requirements for large Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes and advised against parking funds in VPDAs, stating that withdrawals should be linked only to actual and immediate expenditure requirements.

Approved on June 28, 2024, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana provides Rs 1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer to eligible women aged 21 to 65 years with the objective of promoting their economic independence.

About the Author

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has more than 10 years of experience in national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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