Over 14,000 Men Illegally Benefited from Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Scheme, Govt Launches Probe

More than 14,000 men unjustly availed the benefits of Maharashtra state flagship welfare scheme Ladki Bahin Yojana that was only meant to help economically weaker women between 21 and 65 years of age. The disclosure has led to political outrage and irksome queries about the processing and concurrence of the programme that was born only a few months prior to the assembly elections of the year 2024.

The scheme also offers 1,500 per month to deserving women and whose monthly household income is less than 2.5 lakh rupees has been under the spotlight since the opposition side claimed it to be full of anomalies. An audit by the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) now proves that 14,298 men succeeded in getting registered as female beneficiaries and had syphoned off 21.44 crore unlawfully on the exchequer.

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The magnitude of the misuse does not limit itself to gender fraud. The audit has also confirmed that the initial year of the scheme registered losses of 1,640 crores rupees because of the prevalence of the violation of the eligibility criteria. This covered the households having more than two female applicants, the overaged beneficiaries and families having four-wheelers who were not to be granted benefits.

Among the most shocking of the findings, it was learned that 7.97 lakh of the women belonging to the households where two females were already registered in the scheme, also enrolled themselves in the scheme. This in itself led to a 1,196 crore loss. Additional 431.7 crores was given to 2.87 lakh women who were above the age limit of 65 years.

The WCD audit also found out that 1.62 lakh women belonging to car-owning families, which automatically renders them ineligible then are also paid out monthly under the scheme.

A further investigation has been demanded by opposition leaders, among them NCP MP Supriya Sule. “How did these men fill the forms? Who helped them? Which company was given the contract for registrations? There’s a bigger conspiracy behind this. The company should be investigated, and the matter should be probed by an SIT or the ED,” Sule said.

In response to the increasing fears of abuse; the state government took corrective steps. In December 2024, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a review of the scheme to be carried out comprehensively. In February Waqf board Minister Aditi Tatkare confirmed removal of 5 lakh ineligible beneficiaries since she pledged accountability during the month of January.

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Tatkare later stated, “The Department of Women and Child Development had sought information from all government departments to verify the eligibility of all applications. Accordingly, the Information and Technology Department reported that approximately 26.34 lakh beneficiaries, despite being ineligible, were availing benefits of the scheme. It has been found that some beneficiaries were availing the benefits of multiple schemes, some families had more than two beneficiaries, and in some cases, men had applied for the scheme. Based on this information, starting from June 2025, the benefits for these 26.34 lakh applicants have been temporarily suspended. Additionally, approximately 2.25 crore eligible beneficiaries of the scheme have been disbursed the honorarium for the month of June 2025.”

The credibility of the programme is still quite haunted with the systematic flaws in digital verification and supervision in spite of the corrective actions at hand. According to political experts, the plan, though fair with intentions, might now serve as a lesson in government administration of welfare particularly when the delivery of the welfare system is pegged on electoral politics.

The episode prompts greater concerns related to the computerisation of welfare system and necessity to perform thorough identity checks, coordinate data between various departments, and conduct frequent audits.

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