The Maharashtra government’s flagship Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana has undergone a massive beneficiary verification exercise, with more than 92 lakh women removed from the scheme. The numbers have soared from the government’s initial estimate of 80 lakh removals which resulted in almost a 38% reduction in the total number of beneficiaries from the original 2.4 crore women.
The large-scale reduction follows months of verification through the mandatory e-KYC process and scrutiny of eligibility criteria. The removals were not based on a single factor but were the result of multiple checks to make sure that only eligible beneficiaries continue to receive financial assistance under the scheme, the government said.
The main reason for these exclusions was the failure to complete the mandatory e-KYC verification. Some 50-55 lakh women did not complete the process despite being given almost eight months to do so, the government officials said. Their names were then removed from the beneficiary database.
Apart from the incomplete verification, many of the beneficiaries were found to be ineligible under the scheme’s guidelines. About 12 lakh women were identified as belonging to families with annual incomes above the prescribed limit. Many of the beneficiaries were also registered as income taxpayers and therefore ineligible to receive the financial assistance.
Age criteria also played a crucial role in the verification drive. More than 4.5 lakh women were removed when authorities found that they were over the scheme’s maximum age limit of 65 years. In a truly remarkable finding, nearly 14,000 men had managed to register under the women-centric welfare programme.
The review also found that about five lakh women were already receiving benefits under the Namo Shetkari Yojana, making them ineligible for benefits under the Ladki Bahin scheme based on existing government guidelines.
Beed had the highest number of removals among all districts, with almost 28 lakh beneficiaries taken off the list after verification.
Government officials stress that the figures are still provisional. A new list of eligible beneficiaries will be drawn up after verification. Women who were removed from the scheme despite meeting all eligibility conditions are being evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
The verification drive comes at a time when the financial burden of the ambitious welfare programme is growing. Last week, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) warned that the scheme's expenditure could significantly impact Maharashtra’s finances. It said expenditure of ₹3,541 crore could not be adequately justified under the scheme.
The report also highlighted the sharp increase in government spending on women’s welfare programmes. Spending on this category rose sharply from ₹261.78 crore in 2023-24 to ₹33,554.36 crore in 2024-25 mainly because of the launch of the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, approved by the Maharashtra government on 28 June 2024.
As verification continues, the Maharashtra government says this exercise is to improve transparency, to remove ineligible beneficiaries and to ensure that women who are actually eligible to receive financial assistance under the scheme’s guidelines are provided financial support.
