#Maharashtra: Ladki Bahin Yojana 81 lakh Registered Beneficiaries Removed ; BJP’s Game Changing Pre-Poll Announcement Is A Dampener

Around 81 lakh registered beneficiaries have been removed from Maharashtra government’s Ladki Bahin Yojana following a multi-month e-KYC verification drive, Minister Aditi Tatkare said on Monday, even as Opposition parties alleged irregularities in its implementation.

Speaking to reporters, the women and child development minister clarified that the e-KYC process was mandatory to systematically weed out ineligible registrations, income-tax payers, and families of government employees, who are not covered under the scheme.

“When the scheme was launched, 2.63 crore persons had registered to avail its benefits, and of them, 2.47 crore women became beneficiaries and received monthly financial assistance. Once the department started e-KYC to filter out non-eligible beneficiaries, the number started shrinking further,” she said.

The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, announced by the government on June 28, 2024, aims to ensure women’s economic independence. Under the scheme, eligible women aged between 21 and 65 years receive Rs 1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer.

Asked about media reports claiming removal of 93 lakh beneficiaries, Tatkare said, “After the e-KYC drive, the number of beneficiaries had reached 1.67 to 1.7 crore. If you subtract this figure from the number of people who had registered for the scheme at the time of its launch, you get 92 to 93 lakh. But in reality, the state disbursed the stipend to 2.47 crore women, and the rest were found to be ineligible right from the start.”

She stated that around 62 lakh women who had registered for the scheme and received benefits did not complete the e-KYC process despite repeated extensions.

“Around 16 lakh beneficiaries were found to have annual family income exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh, while 4.42 lakh were declared ineligible because a family member was a government employee,” she said, adding that even some men and government employees had registered for the scheme and received benefits.

Tatkare said the e-KYC process had started in August 2025 and beneficiaries were given six months to complete it, with assistance extended till April to rectify deficiencies.

Complaints from women who completed e-KYC but did not receive benefits are also being verified, she said.

The minister said the government had begun recovering money from government employees around eight to 10 months ago and that the recovered amount was being deposited with the treasury.

The Opposition parties, meanwhile, stepped up their attack against the government, alleging that the scheme, launched months before the 2024 state assembly elections, was used as a political inducement.