- Over 14,000 men fraudulently received benefits meant for women under Ladki Bahin Yojana in Maharashtra
- Rs 21.44 crore was disbursed to men who registered as female beneficiaries via the online system
- Scheme losses total Rs 1,640 crore due to ineligible enrolments
Over 14,000 men fraudulently received financial benefits under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, a scheme explicitly meant for economically disadvantaged women in Maharashtra.
The scheme, which was launched last year, promises Rs 1,500 per month to women aged between 21 and 65 years whose families earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually. Its rollout, timed just months before the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, became a key instrument of the Mahayuti coalition, led by the BJP and supported by factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP, to attract voters.
An audit conducted by the Women and Child Development Department (WCD) has uncovered that Rs 21.44 crore was disbursed to 14,298 men, who, by manipulating the online registration system, managed to register themselves as female beneficiaries. This misuse came to light nearly 10 months after the scheme's launch.
"Ladki Bahin scheme was launched to help poor women. There is absolutely no reason why men should be its beneficiaries. We will recover the money given to them. If they do not cooperate, further action will be taken," Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said.
The fraudulent inclusion of men in the beneficiary list is only one part of the problem. According to the same WCD report, the scheme has incurred an estimated loss of Rs 1,640 crore in its first year due to large-scale ineligible enrollments.
The largest misuse stemmed from over 7.97 lakh women who enrolled as third members from the same family. The scheme, however, explicitly restricts benefits to a maximum of two women per household. This violation alone cost the exchequer Rs 1,196 crore.
Another irregularity involves 2.87 lakh women over the age of 65 receiving benefits, even though the age ceiling for eligibility is fixed at 65 years. The state lost approximately Rs 431.7 crore due to these overage beneficiaries.
Further, 1.62 lakh women from households that own four-wheelers were also found on the beneficiary rolls. According to the scheme's terms, such families do not qualify for financial assistance.
The findings have sparked criticism and demands for wider investigation.
"How did these men fill the forms? Who helped them? Which company was given the contract for registrations? There's a bigger conspiracy behind this. The company should be investigated, and the matter should be probed by an SIT or the ED," said NCP MP Supriya Sule.
In December 2024, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a comprehensive review of the scheme. In January this year, WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare publicly committed to corrective action. By February, the names of 5 lakh ineligible beneficiaries had been removed from the system.
"The Department of Women and Child Development had sought information from all government departments to verify the eligibility of all applications. Accordingly, the Information and Technology Department reported that approximately 26.34 lakh beneficiaries, despite being ineligible, were availing benefits of the scheme. It has been found that some beneficiaries were availing the benefits of multiple schemes, some families had more than two beneficiaries, and in some cases, men had applied for the scheme. Based on this information, starting from June 2025, the benefits for these 26.34 lakh applicants have been temporarily suspended. Additionally, approximately 2.25 crore eligible beneficiaries of the scheme have been disbursed the honorarium for the month of June 2025," WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare said.
