Ladki Bahin Yojana: 19 lakh beneficiaries in Pune district benefit from govt’s flagship scheme

As per the latest data, there were 21,11,887 applicants from Pune district. Of these 6.82 lakh applicants are from Pune city followed by 4.19 lakh from Haveli taluka, 1.18 lakh from Khed taluka, 1.22 from Baramati, 1.10 lakh from Indapur, 1.05 lakh each from Junnar and Shirur and 1.02 lakh from Daund. Barring Velha taluka from where 14,704 applications have poured in, the remaining talukas—Bhor, Maval, Mulshi and Puranda—have a sizable number of applicants.

The state government, as part of this scheme which commenced in July this year, promised to provide Rs 1,500 per month to women from economically weaker sections. The scheme is expected to benefit lakhs of women with an aim to empower them. The eligibility criteria for the scheme is that women should be aged between 21 and 65 years.

Applicants should have their own bank account linked with an Aadhaar card and the annual income of the applicant’s family should not exceed Rs.2.5 lakh.

Jamsing Girase, Deputy CEO of Pune Zilla Parishad, told The Indian Express that Pune figured among the top districts with the highest number of applications, mainly due to the huge population and the district’s unique geographical structure.

Meanwhile, 8,768 forms have been rejected while disbursal of amount has been pending for 50,556 applications. This is due to the election code of conduct which came into force on Tuesday.

Girase also noted that there were 1.5 lakh applicants whose back accounts were not linked with their Aadhaar numbers, which is a pre-requisite for availing the financial benefits of the scheme.