Around 80 lakh women have become ineligible for the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme following an e-KYC deadline, sparking sharp allegations from the Opposition parties that the Maharashtra government was weeding out beneficiaries due to a “severe financial crisis”.
A senior official , however, said that the beneficiary count has dropped from 2.4 crore to nearly 1.7 crore after the April 30 e-KYC deadline, but the disqualifications were also linked to non-compliance with eligibility criteria.
The government had provided an eight-month window for beneficiaries to complete their e-KYC, he said.
“Around 50 to 55 lakh women failed to complete the process entirely, while two to three lakh rectified errors during this period. Additionally, nearly 12 lakh women were found to be income-tax payers exceeding the annual income cap of Rs 2.5 lakh, and over 4.5 lakh had crossed the upper age limit of 65 years,” the official said.
Around five lakh women were already receiving benefits under the Namo Shetkari scheme, he added.
Addressing complaints that women who completed e-KYC missed monthly instalments, the official noted, “The final figure of actual beneficiaries will be clear in a week, and the complaints are being cross-verified.”
He further denied that 80 lakh women were dropped from the scheme solely on the grounds of non-completion of e-KYC.
Opposition NCP-SP leader Jayant Patil, meanwhile, claimed that the dropping of beneficiaries from the scheme reflects a “severe financial crisis” faced by the state.
Patil alleged that the scheme, which provides monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500 to eligible women, was rolled out ahead of the 2024 state assembly elections following the ruling Mahayuti alliance’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Now, as many as 80 lakh women beneficiaries have been declared ineligible. This amounts to abandoning the very people who were promised assistance,” he said.
Concerns Over Scheme’s Future
The former minister claimed that the move was indicative of the growing financial strain on the state government.
“After the Centre, the state too is facing a major financial crisis. The first blow has fallen on our ‘ladki bahins’. The state’s fiscal deficit is substantial, and the global economic slowdown has further aggravated the situation,” Patil said, adding that the move could have been avoided with better planning and careful implementation.
