Increased aid under Ladki Bahin Scheme will not be implemented immediately: Minister
Aditi Tatkare says neither the govt nor the CM said that the revised aid of Rs 2,100 would be included in 2025-’26 budget
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Providing data to support her claim, the minister stated that in August, there were 1.59 crore beneficiaries, which rose to 2.2 crore in September, 2.33 crore in October and 2.45 crore in November-December. (Representative)
The proposed increase in financial aid under the Ladki Bahin Scheme — from Rs1,500 to Rs 2,100 — will not be implemented immediately, said Maharashtra Minister for Women and Child Development Aditi Tatkare in the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
Stating that neither the state government nor Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the revised monthly aid of Rs 2,100 would be included in the 2025-’26 budget, Tatkare said, “The Mahayuti government launched the Ladki Bahin Yojana on July 6 last year, providing Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women. While the coalition promised in its election manifesto to raise this amount to Rs 2,100, the chief minister never specified that it would take effect in the upcoming budget.”
Pointing out that the election manifesto is for a five-year term, the minister said the decision to increase the allowance will be made at an appropriate time by the CM and deputy chief ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde. Once they announce the increase, the women and child development department will draft a proposal, she said.
Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab raised concerns about the delay in implementing the increase in allowance and sought to know how many ineligible applicants had been removed from the scheme.
“There’s been a lot of talk about this scheme, but now we hear that some women have opted out, while others have been disqualified. How many more will be excluded? Why were the eligibility criteria not clearly established from the beginning,” Parab said, questioning whether there was a mechanism to prevent beneficiaries from receiving aid from multiple government schemes, citing cases where women availed of benefits from both the Namo Shetkari Scheme and the Ladki Bahin Yojana.
“Is the government being misled? Will action be taken against those who wrongly received benefits under both the schemes? And what about officials who failed to verify documents properly, resulting in misuse of government funds,” he added.
In response, Tatkare said that when the scheme was launched in July 2024, around 50 lakh women’s bank accounts were not linked to Aadhaar. The linking process is now underway, ensuring that eligible women receive their benefits directly.
“The scheme is for women aged 21 to 65 years. Every month, some beneficiaries exit the program due to aging out, marriage, or relocation outside Maharashtra, which naturally affects the numbers. However, overall, the number of beneficiaries has been steadily increasing,” Tatkare said.
Providing data to support her claim, the minister stated that in August, there were 1.59 crore beneficiaries, which rose to 2.2 crore in September, 2.33 crore in October and 2.45 crore in November-December.
Tatkare also announced that financial aid for February and March would be deposited on March 8 to mark International Women’s Day.
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