Maharashtra removes over 2,200 ineligible government employees from the Ladki Bahin Yojana after verification drive. State vows strict monitoring to ensure benefits reach eligible women only.
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Over 2,200 Ineligible Government Employees Removed from Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Yojana as Scrutiny Tightens
Mumbai | June 3, 2025 — In a sweeping move aimed at restoring integrity to its flagship women empowerment initiative, the Maharashtra government has removed over 2,200 ineligible government employees from the Ladki Bahin Yojana after an intensified verification drive revealed they were wrongfully availing the financial benefit.
The scheme, launched in March 2024 with the objective of providing ₹1,500 per month to economically disadvantaged women aged 21–60, is now under the spotlight as the government scrambles to weed out fraudulent claims and reinforce eligibility enforcement.
Over 2,200 Maharashtra Govt Employees Removed from Ladki Bahin Yojana Amid Eligibility Scrutiny
What Is the Ladki Bahin Yojana?
The Ladki Bahin Yojana (translated as "Dear Sister Scheme") is one of the flagship social welfare programs introduced by the Maharashtra government, modeled loosely on Madhya Pradesh’s Laadli Behna scheme.
It aims to uplift low-income women, especially homemakers and unorganized workers, by providing monthly cash assistance directly into their bank accounts. The scheme was seen as a politically strategic outreach initiative before the 2024 state elections and was widely publicized by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
As of April 2025, over 1.38 crore women had been enrolled under the scheme.
The Breach: Who Was Found Ineligible?
According to sources from the Department of Women and Child Development, the internal audit flagged 2,212 women employed in government positions who were drawing a regular salary yet availing the Ladki Bahin benefits. This violates the scheme’s fundamental eligibility condition, which mandates that recipients must not be in any salaried government or private employment and must fall below a specific income threshold.
“We are committed to ensuring only rightful beneficiaries are supported. Strict disciplinary action will follow against those who willfully misled authorities,” said Dr. Sheetal Bhadke, principal secretary for the department.
The ineligible claimants have since been delisted from the scheme database and ordered to return the disbursed funds, amounting to nearly ₹4 crore collectively.
How the Fraud Was Detected
Officials revealed that the fraudulent claims were exposed during the second phase of the Aadhaar-linked cross-verification drive. By integrating the State HRMS (Human Resource Management System) data with banking and welfare scheme records, authorities could identify overlaps between salaried employees and Ladki Bahin beneficiaries.
Some fraudulent claimants had allegedly used spouse or alternate bank accounts to avoid detection, raising serious concerns about digital monitoring gaps in the scheme's early rollout.
Political Fallout and Public Backlash
The revelation has triggered a political war of words, with opposition leaders accusing the government of poor planning and hasty implementation.
“The scheme was launched with headlines but without homework. It’s shameful that thousands of government employees siphoned off welfare meant for the poor,” said Congress MLA Yashomati Thakur, a former Women and Child Development Minister.
In response, BJP leaders defended the government’s swift corrective measures, citing the audit system as evidence of transparency.
What Happens Next: Government Response & Reforms
The Women and Child Development Department has issued a directive to:
Conduct monthly verification cycles for high-risk beneficiaries.
Launch a statewide awareness campaign to clarify eligibility.
Penalize repeat offenders under Section 420 of the IPC and fraud provisions of the Maharashtra Public Servants Act.
Additionally, local tahsildars and municipal officers have been instructed to conduct door-to-door re-verification in urban and semi-rural blocks to ensure no fraudulent enrollment persists.
Ground-Level Impact: Voices from the Field
While the cleanup is being welcomed in principle, some genuine beneficiaries complain that delays in fund disbursement and sudden account freezes have caused distress.
“We are being asked to submit documents again. I had applied through a government center, and now they say my Aadhaar is not verified,” said Manju Tai, a 45-year-old domestic worker from Solapur.
District collectors have promised grievance redressal counters at block offices and helpline expansion in the coming weeks.
Conclusion: Integrity vs. Inclusion
The Ladki Bahin Yojana, hailed as a lifeline for millions of rural and urban low-income women, now stands at a crossroads—caught between the urgency to plug leaks and the responsibility to ensure no deserving applicant is left behind.
As Maharashtra continues its verification drive, the state government will have to balance tightened scrutiny with empathetic outreach—preserving the spirit of empowerment that the scheme was built on.
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