4 min readMumbaiDec 12, 2025 09:17 PM IST
First published on: Dec 12, 2025 at 09:16 PM IST
Maharashtra Women and Child Development (WCD) minister Aditi Tatkare on Friday informed the Maharashtra Legislature that the state government has begun the process of recovering nearly Rs 165 crore that had been transferred to ineligible beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme.
Responding to the question raised by over a dozen of MLAs, Tatkare told the House in a written reply that the government has given instructions to district collectors and WCD officers to trace and recover funds wrongfully disbursed. “Recovery from ineligible beneficiaries has begun. Departments have been directed to act against those who knowingly availed the benefits, despite not being eligible,” she said.
Among the categories identified for recovery are men who received the monthly assistance, despite the scheme being exclusively for women; government employees, who are excluded from the scheme due to income and service conditions, and women beneficiaries whose documents or income levels did not meet the eligibility norms.
Officials said recovery notices are being drafted at the district-level and will be issued in phases over the next two months.
Many of the women beneficiaries had already availed benefits of other government schemes, which made them ineligible for the Rs 1,500 monthly allowance under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, said Tatkare adding that their accounts would be scrutinised over the next two months.
“Some 8,000 employees from various state departments have been found taking benefit of the Ladki Bahin scheme.The state government has started recovery of the amount from such beneficiaries,” the minister said in the house while responding to the questions raised by the Opposition.
An RTI-based investigation published by The Indian Express in October had first highlighted that thousands of ineligible individuals—including men and women with disqualified income criteria—had managed to receive the monthly assistance. The revelations triggered demands for a department-wise audit and a transparent verification process.
In October, The Indian Express highlighted that as many as 12,439 men received around ₹25 crore, 77,000 ineligible women claimed benefits worth ₹140 crore and thousands of women employed with the government— who are barred under the scheme—received Rs 14.5 crore, totalling to Rs 165 crore.
Opposition leaders said Tatkare’s reply validated and exposed “a systemic failure in verifying beneficiaries before disbursal” and demanded a white paper that will detail against whom action will be taken.
“The government cannot hide behind technical errors. This is a failure of governance on a massive scale. The government should clarity if a criminal action would be taken against the beneficiaies or those officials who failed to do a proper verification,” a senior MLA from the Opposition said outside the House.
Tatkare further informed the House that the state government has also extended the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar-based e-KYC to December 31, 2025, citing difficulties faced by beneficiaries due to technical glitches, network issues and cases where Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers belonged to deceased relatives. Women, whose husbands or fathers have died, or those who are divorced have been asked to submit relevant certificates to the local Anganwadi centres within the extended timeline.
While confirming the recovery process, Tatkare clarified that the government has not issued a Government Resolution (GR) for the Chief Minister’s earlier announcement of ₹1 lakh interest-free loans to beneficiaries through district cooperative banks.
The Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, launched with the promise of monthly financial support for women aged 21–60, has enrolled 2.43 crore women across Maharashtra.
Many of the women beneficiaries had already availed benefits of other government schemes, which made them ineligible for the Rs 1,500 monthly allowance under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, said Tatkare adding that their accounts would be scrutinised over the next two months. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) 
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