Ladki Bahin Yojana: 92.10 lakh women removed after verification, claims Congress' Wadettiwar

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the verification exercise had deprived poor women of financial assistance. File Pic

Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti government had used women for electoral gains and then deprived them of benefits after coming to power.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader claimed that 92.10 lakh beneficiaries had been removed from the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana following e-KYC and verification, reported the PTI.

In a post on X, Wadettiwar claimed that the number of beneficiaries under the scheme had fallen from around 2.48 crore to 1.65 crore.

He attributed the removal of beneficiaries to information provided by a whistleblower activist and questioned the government's handling of the verification process, the news agency reported.

The government, however, had earlier said that the reduction was mainly due to incomplete e-KYC and failure to meet income-related eligibility criteria.

Wadettiwar questions beneficiary deletions

According to the PTI, Wadettiwar referred to earlier estimates by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, which had put the number of eligible women at around 2.47 crore before the scheme was launched.

He questioned why the government had not taken steps to recover money from families of government employees who allegedly received benefits despite being ineligible.

The Congress leader alleged that the verification exercise had deprived poor women of financial assistance while failing to adequately address cases where benefits were allegedly received by ineligible beneficiaries.

Congress leader lists reasons for deletions

According to figures cited by Wadettiwar, the beneficiaries removed from the scheme included:

- 62 lakh for not completing e-KYC
- 16 lakh for failing to meet income criteria
- 4.42 lakh identified as government employees through e-KYC
- 2.5 lakh removed because more than two women from the same household were receiving the benefit
- 1.8 lakh who were above the age of 65
- 1.7 lakh deleted at the district level for not meeting eligibility criteria

8,000 identified as govt employees

These figures were cited by Wadettiwar in his criticism of the government and were not independently verified in the statement provided, as per the PTI.

The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched by the Mahayuti government in August 2024, ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Under the scheme, eligible women aged 21 to 65 years from financially weaker sections receive Rs 1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

The controversy centres on the large reduction in the number of beneficiaries following the government's verification and e-KYC exercise.

(with PTI inputs)