Mumbai: Nearly four in every 10 beneficiaries of Maharashtra’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana have been removed following a statewide verification drive, with government records reviewed by The Indian Express revealing that more than 92 lakh beneficiaries were deleted from the scheme — significantly higher than the nearly 80 lakh removals disclosed by the state government so far.
The large-scale verification exercise reduced the scheme’s beneficiary base from its peak of around 2.43 crore women to over 1.5 crore, with officials estimating that those removed had collectively received around Rs 14,000 crore before payments were discontinued.
Majority Removed for Not Completing eKYC
According to official records, the biggest reason for the removals was the failure to complete mandatory electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) verification.
The verification found:
- Nearly 62 lakh beneficiaries (67%) failed to complete mandatory eKYC authentication.
- Around 16 lakh (17%) belonged to families earning more than the scheme’s annual income limit of Rs 2.5 lakh.
- About 4.42 lakh (4.8%) declared that they or a family member were government employees.
- Nearly 3.6 lakh (3.9%) were already receiving benefits under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana.
- Around 2.5 lakh (2.7%) involved more than two members from the same family claiming benefits.
- Nearly 1.8 lakh (2%) were above the maximum eligible age of 65 years.
- Around 1.7 lakh (1.8%) were identified during district-level verification.
- Separately, about 29,000 men and nearly 8,000 government employees were also found to have received benefits despite being ineligible.
Officials said beneficiaries whose payments were stopped had, on average, received assistance for around 10 months, although the duration varied depending on when they were identified during the verification process.
Scheme Has Cost Over Rs 60,000 Crore
Launched ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana provides Rs 1,500 per 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 welfare schemes are not eligible for the financial assistance.
Since its launch, budget allocations and supplementary provisions for the scheme have crossed Rs 60,000 crore.
CAG Flags Financial Management Concerns
The findings come amid scrutiny from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which, in its audit of Maharashtra’s finances for 2024-25, highlighted deficiencies in the scheme’s financial management.
The audit pointed to:
- Excess expenditure of around Rs 3,541 crore without adequate justification.
- Rs 15,586 crore parked in government deposit accounts despite no immediate utilisation requirement.
- Weak expenditure controls and financial management practices.
The CAG recommended more realistic beneficiary estimation and improved budgeting for large Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes.
Government Says Beneficiaries Had Enough Time
Responding to the findings, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said the eKYC exercise could not begin immediately after the scheme’s launch due to the Assembly election schedule and the Model Code of Conduct.
“The scheme was launched in June 2024 and the first two instalments were released together in August 2024. After that, Assembly elections were announced and the Model Code of Conduct came into force, delaying the eKYC process. The verification exercise was initiated in August 2025 after the new government assumed office,” Tatkare said.
She added that beneficiaries were repeatedly given opportunities, including extensions until December 31, 2025, to complete eKYC before payments were stopped.
“It is not that the government removed them. All eligible women continued receiving benefits until the eKYC procedure was completed,” she said.
Recovery Only from Men and Government Employees
On recovering funds from ineligible beneficiaries, Tatkare said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had already announced in the Assembly that only male beneficiaries and government employees found to have wrongly availed the scheme would be required to return the money.
She added that recovery proceedings against these categories had already begun under the Revenue Recovery Receipt mechanism, with district collectors directed to recover the amounts.
Budget Allocation Reduced
Following the verification exercise, the Maharashtra government has reduced the scheme’s allocation from Rs 36,000 crore in 2025-26 to Rs 26,500 crore in the current financial year — a reduction of nearly Rs 9,500 crore.
Meanwhile, the Mahayuti government’s election promise to increase the monthly assistance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 has yet to be implemented.
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