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‘Next time, don’t ask for mothers’ votes…you have your sisters’: Barred from Ladki Bahin Yojana, waste workers in Pune lash out

Elderly waste workers in Pune are questioning why the Maharashtra government has placed a cap of 65 years on its popular Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.

Abida Baswant (in green saree) and Annapurna Attkare (seated to her right) are among the many waste workers in Pune who cannot avail the Maharashtra government’s Ladki Bahin scheme because they have crossed the eligible age limit.Abida Baswant (in green saree) and Annapurna Attkare (seated to her right) are among the many waste workers in Pune who cannot avail the Maharashtra government’s Ladki Bahin scheme because they have crossed the eligible age limit. (Express photo)

For the last 40 years, Abida Arjun Baswant, 72, has eked out a living as a waste collector in the Dhayari and Kothrud areas of Pune. But Baswant now feels her working days are numbered due to her failing health. When the Maharashtra government announced its flagship financial assistance scheme for women last year, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, Baswant was hopeful. Until she tried to enrol and was turned away because she was above the eligible age criteria.

“I was told I am debarred by age,” says Baswant, whose son, who works as a gig worker for an app-based food delivery company, has been bedridden for three months after an accident. “It is a hand-to-mouth existence for us. We do not have savings or any security. Why was the scheme not extended to us?” she asks.

Ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the state government rolled out its scheme to provide Rs 1,500 a month to women in the 21-65 year age group whose household income was below Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. While the ruling Mahayuti credited this scheme for women voting in their favour, post-elections, the government has hinted that the 24.3 million beneficiaries of the scheme will be scrutinised to weed out the non-eligible names.

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For waste workers like Baswant, whose livelihood is in the informal sector, the scheme and its scrutiny do not make sense. Like Baswant, Annapurna Attkare, 70, stays in the Panmala slums at the foothills of Parvati – the Assembly constituency represented by Madhuri Misal, the state women and child welfare minister.

Attkare still goes to work, collecting garbage from home to home, as she is the only earning member of the family. Her husband, son and daughter have passed away and she now takes care of her mentally challenged son. “If I do not go to work one day, there is nothing for us to eat,” she says.

The Ladki Bahin Yojana has excluded them but Baswant and Attkare say they have always exercised their voting rights. “Next time, do not ask for the votes of mothers – you have your sisters to support you,” says Attkare, referring to the scheme’s name, which mentions sisters.

The elderly waste workers in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad – 1,200 of the 8,000 waste workers in these regions are above the age of 65 years – are asking why the state government placed a cap of 65 years on the scheme.

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In December last year, they protested this exclusion outside the Pune district collector’s office. Subsequently, they even travelled to Mumbai to meet Misal. But to no avail.

“It is ironic that during the elections, we are considered important but a scheme that could have helped us excludes us,” says Ujjwala Gaikwad, 67, another waste worker.

The physical toll of their work is catching up on Baswant and Attkare now. Attkare says she has to tie a belt around her waist and her knees as she suffers from excruciating pain. Baswant says she has skin ailments and often has to visit doctors. “Once my body refuses to work, I think I will be reduced to begging,” she says.

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More


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