2,289 Govt. Employees Getting Benefit of ‘Ladki Bahin’ Scheme Removed From List of Beneficiaries
The government has assured continued verification to ensure only eligible women get benefits.
The Maharashtra government’s flagship scheme ‘CM Majhi Ladki Bahin’ (CM My Beloved Sister) is once again in controversy after women employees of the state government were found to be taking benefit of the scheme. The government has removed at least 2,200 of its employees from the beneficiaries list. The scheme, launched with the aim of providing monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women from economically weaker backgrounds. The government has assured continued verification to ensure only eligible women get benefits.
State women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare stated that the ineligible applicants will no longer receive benefits from the scheme and that regular scrutiny will continue to ensure only qualified individuals are supported. Interestingly, these state government employees received Rs 1,500 every month since June last year. However, the government has not commented on recovering the money from them.
Launched in August 2023 ahead of the state elections, the Ladki Bahin Yojana provides monthly financial aid of Rs 1,500 to eligible women between 21 and 65 years of age. However, government employees are not entitled to receive benefits under the scheme.
“Scrutiny of beneficiaries is a routine for any scheme. After scrutiny of nearly two lakh beneficiaries, we found 2,289 government employees receiving money under the scheme. We have removed them from the list. Regular scrutiny of beneficiaries will continue,” Ms. Tatkare said.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar admitted “mistakes” in the enrolment process. However, Pawar said no money will be recovered from those who were wrongly enrolled. “We had limited time when this scheme was introduced, and elections soon followed, leaving us with insufficient time for a thorough inspection,” he said.
However, BJP leader and state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the government would recover money from it’s employees and some departments have already initiated inquiry into such cases.