Over 12,000 men illegally received funds under Maharashtra’s women-focused scheme

Maharashtra’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, aimed at supporting women aged 21-65 from families earning under ₹2.5 lakh annually with ₹1,500 per month, has reportedly disbursed funds to 12,431 men, according to data accessed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, which administers the scheme, confirmed that these men have been removed from the beneficiary list following verification, alongside 77,980 women who were also identified as ineligible. Altogether, the irregular disbursement amounts to approximately ₹164.52 crore—₹24.24 crore for men and ₹140.28 crore for women.

Launched in June 2024, just four months before the Assembly elections, the scheme has faced criticism from opposition parties as a pre-election populist measure. At the time, the government also announced a ₹199.81 crore publicity campaign for the scheme. Presently, around 2.41 crore women continue to receive benefits, costing the state nearly ₹3,700 crore per month.

A separate RTI response revealed that at least 2,400 government employees, including men, also received funds they were not entitled to, prompting disciplinary proceedings—but no recoveries have yet been initiated.

Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare had earlier flagged potential ineligible beneficiaries, noting that preliminary checks suggested around 26 lakh accounts statewide may not meet eligibility criteria. Verification is underway at district levels, and those found ineligible are to face action under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

A state government official described the figures revealed under RTI as the “tip of the iceberg”, cautioning that the total amount disbursed to ineligible accounts could rise as verification continues. Fund disbursement to 26.34 lakh suspect accounts was suspended in June-July 2025 pending checks.

Officials attributed the irregularities in male beneficiaries to lack of checks during the scheme’s rollout, with payments of ₹1,500 per month made from July 2024 to July 2025. Likewise, tens of thousands of women were found ineligible due to misrepresentation of income, multiple scheme claims, and submission of incorrect data, according to government resolutions outlining eligibility criteria.

Government employees found among beneficiaries span several departments, including Agriculture, Tribal Development, Ayurveda, Social Welfare, and Zilla Parishads. Thousands of households had multiple members receiving benefits despite exceeding the income threshold of ₹2.5 lakh.

To curb further misuse, the government has launched a statewide e-KYC verification drive for all current and new beneficiaries, officials said.