Ladki Bahin scheme: Govt declares 5 lakh beneficiaries ineligible, says won’t take back amount paid earlier
Rs 450 crore deposited into their accounts over 6 months
3 min read
To avail benefits under the scheme, the beneficiary should not have a government employee as family member, should not own a four-wheeler or be getting monthly assistance under any other government scheme. The Maharashtra government on Friday declared five lakh beneficiaries of Chief Minister Ladki Bahin Yojana as ineligible as they receive benefits under other schemes or do not fulfill the eligibility criteria.
However, the money which has already been deposited into the bank accounts of these women over the last six months will not be taken back from them, said Women and Child Development minister Aditi Tatkare.
Sources in the government said that an aggregate of over Rs 450 crore have been deposited into the accounts of these 5 lakh women between July 2024 and December 2024 — eligible women are provided a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500 under the scheme.
“Those who have been declared ineligible will not get the benefits from January. However, taking forward the concept of a welfare state, it will not be proper to seize the money deposited in the accounts earlier. Therefore, money deposited from July 2024 to December 2024 will not be taken back,” Tatkare said.
Among the five lakh women who have been declared ineligible, 2.30 lakh avail benefits under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Scheme, 1.10 lakh are above the age of 65 and 1.60 lakh have four-wheeler and are also beneficiaries of schemes such as Namo Shetkari scheme.
Under the Ladki Bahin scheme, the government provides Rs 1,500 per month to women up to the age of 65 with an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh. To avail benefits under the scheme, the beneficiary should not have a government employee as family member, should not own a four-wheeler or be getting monthly assistance under any other government scheme.
According to the government, a total of 2.46 crore beneficiaries exist under this scheme.
The Ladki Bahin scheme was announced by the previous state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in the Budget presented by the then finance minister Ajit Pawar for the year 2024-25, months ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra.
The goverment’s announcement of a slew populist schemes ahead of the Assembly elections in November 2024 — the Mahayuti government returned to power with a huge majority in the polls — had met with criticisms after the fiscal deficit of the state rose to Rs 2 lakh crore.
For the Ladki Bahin scheme alone, the government had earmarked 46,000 crore.
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