Journalism of Courage
‘Save some Ladki Bahin money, don’t spend it on shopping’: Maharashtra Minister
Maharashtra Minister Aditi Tatkare said women should deposit part of the monthly assistance in self-help groups, banks or cooperative societies for long-term financial security.
The Ladki Bahin Yojana provides Rs 1,500 every month to women aged 21 to 65 years from families with an annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh.
(File Photo)
Months after the Maharashtra Government disqualified 92 lakh women from its flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, Women and Child Welfare Minister Aditi Tatkare said Sunday beneficiaries should refrain from spending the monthly assistance given to them on shopping.
The scheme provides Rs 1,500 every month to women aged 21 to 65 years from families with an annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh. Government employees, income tax payers and beneficiaries of certain other welfare schemes are excluded.
“The beneficiaries should not spend all the Rs 1,500 they receive entirely on shopping, but rather save a portion of that money,” Tatkare said at an event in Washim district.
“We are telling all the beneficiary women not to spend all Rs 1,500 on shopping. Save a few hundred rupees in self-help groups (SHGs), banks, or cooperative societies, and use them wisely. This will benefit you in the future.”
Tatkare said traders constantly ask them when the money for the Ladki Bahin scheme will be disbursed.
“Traders are actually more inquisitive about this than the women themselves. Once, I asked a trader if anyone in his family was a beneficiary. To that, the trader replied, ‘The day the Ladki Bahin money is credited, the market is jam-packed with activity the very next day’,” she said.
Ladki Bahin Yojana beneficiaries dropped
A large-scale verification drive has led to the removal of more than 92 lakh beneficiaries from Maharashtra’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, according to government records examined by The Indian Express. The figure is significantly higher than the roughly 80 lakh exclusions the state government has publicly acknowledged, meaning that nearly four out of every 10 women enrolled in the scheme have now been dropped.
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The biggest share of deletions — close to 62 lakh cases — was attributed to beneficiaries not completing the mandatory electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process.
The verification exercise also identified thousands of ineligible recipients, including those whose household income exceeded the prescribed limit, government employees, women already receiving assistance under other welfare programmes, applicants above the eligible age, and nearly 29,000 male beneficiaries who had been enrolled despite the scheme being intended for women.
The decision came under fire from Opposition parties, which alleged that the Maharashtra Government had taken women voters for a ride.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rohini Khadse said the expenditure on the Ladki Bahin scheme has increased from Rs 26,197.78 crore to Rs 33,697 crore, an increase of about Rs 7,500 crore.
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“This might have forced the government to cut down the names. However, it is not right to deprive women of their benefits just to cut down expenses. This is like backtracking on its promises by making cuts to a scheme initiated for the financial empowerment of women,” Khadse, the chief of the NCP(SP)’s women’s wing, said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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