Reality hits Mahayuti's Ladki Bahin scheme: 1 million ineligible beneficiaries
It is widely credited as the welfare scheme that ensured the BJP-led Mahayuti's return to power in Maharashtra last year after a debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. However, a scrutiny by the state government has detected that around 885,000 women had claimed more cash doles under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana than they were eligible for. The government has also struck off over 2,000 government employees from the list of beneficiaries.After the drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, the erstwhile Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti regime had rolled out multiple welfare schemes. The flagship scheme was the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which over 25 million women from indigent families were given doles of Rs 1,500 per month—a replica of a similar cash benefit scheme for women in neighbouring and BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.advertisementOther schemes, such as stipends for apprentices, free visits to pilgrimage centres for senior citizens, and a waiver on the toll levied on passenger cars at the five entry points to Mumbai, served as force-multipliers in the assembly polls.Mahayuti leaders say the Ladki Bahin scheme led to this 'silent' voter segment of women, whose financial and social autonomy is otherwise constrained, voting for them with their feet. During the campaign, Shinde had promised to increase the dole to Rs 2,100 if elected, and the Opposition, unable to come up with a credible counter-narrative, said it would double this to Rs 3,000.
However, financial constraints have held back the Devendra Fadnavis government from increasing the stipend. Disbursements under the scheme, which had some 24.6 million beneficiaries in April, are also under scrutiny.advertisement'We collected and churned around 120 million data sets from departments such as food and civil supplies, women and child development, agriculture, general administration, police and transport to de-duplicate Ladki Bahin beneficiaries,' said a senior official from the state information technology department.'We located 885,000 [women] farmers who were drawing Rs 12,000 annual benefits under the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana (NSMNY). Their benefits under Ladki Bahin will be cut to Rs 6,000 annually. This will save around Rs 1,056 crore every year,' the official added.Farmers who get Rs 1,000 per month under NSMNY will get the difference between this and the Ladki Bahin dole of Rs 1,500, translating into a bracket amount of Rs 500 per month.The official said it was also found that 108,000 beneficiaries were above the age cap of 65 years. The government also identified around 2,289 women who are government employees but benefitting under the scheme, in violation of norms. Cash transfers to them have been stopped.The state government has also received the Union government's nod to link the database of Ladki Bahin beneficiaries with income tax PAN (Permanent Account Number) data and sent a proposal to the Union government. Additionally, it will cross-verify vehicle ownership data available with the state to weed out those with four-wheelers.advertisementAjit Pawar, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and finance minister, admitted that the authorities had not been able to conduct a scrutiny before extending the scheme to women. 'We had little time when the scheme was rolled out. There were just two to three months to go to polls,' he said.Senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut alleged this amounted to fraud and sought Pawar's resignation. 'You (Ajit Pawar) must resign. This is a scam in the finance department. Money from the state exchequer has been looted under your watch,' Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP, charged. He also alleged that men had taken benefit of the scheme intended for women by changing their names.In January, women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare had said that district administrations had received complaints about those with annual incomes above the Ladki Bahin scheme's threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh getting the cash benefit. Some beneficiaries had also come forth and said that since their income had increased above the ceiling, they wanted to voluntarily give up the benefits.Since the Ladki Bahin scheme is restricted to women domiciled in Maharashtra, those married into other states will also be excluded. While those who own a two-wheeler are eligible, there were complaints that some households with four-wheelers had been covered. These complaints had come forth from the Wardha, Palghar, Yavatmal and Nanded districts.advertisementAnother official from the women and child development department said that the list had already been trimmed by around 600,000 beneficiaries. This included those whose applications had been rejected at the field level and those who were taking benefits under welfare schemes such as the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana. 'Now, the state government will recover the Ladki Bahin dole from government employees who took these benefits, and also initiate disciplinary action,' the official added.To be eligible for cash aid under the Ladki Bahim scheme, the women should be between 18 and 65 years of age and permanent residents of Maharashtra. Their annual family income should not cross Rs 2.5 lakh. Those employed with the government or owning a four-wheeler are not eligible. While these beneficiaries can receive support from other welfare schemes, the total monthly benefit from all these schemes must not cross Rs 1,500 per month.Subscribe to India Today MagazineTrending Reel
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