15 lakh ineligible Ladli Behna applicants found, no mass deletions: Minister
Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister, Aditi Tatkare, on Monday rejected reports that large number of eligible beneficiaries were being arbitrarily removed from the state's
Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister, Aditi Tatkare, on Monday rejected reports that large number of eligible beneficiaries were being arbitrarily removed from the state's flagship Ladli Behna Yojana, saying the government had identified nearly 15 lakh ineligible applicants through a statewide verification exercise. The minister stressed that the government is ensuring that no deserving woman was excluded from the scheme. Read Full Story The minister's remarks came after reports claimed that the Devendra Fadnavis-led government had removed over 90 lakh beneficiaries from the Ladki Bahin scheme, which offers women Rs 1,500 per month as financial assistance. Addressing concerns over the ongoing scrutiny of beneficiaries, Tatkare said the exercise was aimed at identifying ineligible applicants and streamlining the delivery of welfare benefits through mandatory e-KYC verification. "We started the e-KYC process in August 2025 and extended deadlines multiple times until December 31.
Women were also given time until April to rectify documentation errors. We are diligently cross-verifying all records to ensure that no eligible woman who completed her e-KYC faces any injustice," she said. According to the minister, around 8 lakh women are yet to complete their e-KYC. The verification process has so far identified approximately 14 to 15 lakh applicants whose family members pay income tax and another 4.5 to 5 lakh applicants linked to vehicle ownership, making them ineligible under the scheme's eligibility criteria. Tatkare said reports suggesting that 28 lakh women were disqualified in Beed district were "completely false". "The entire population of Beed is around 30 to 32 lakh. The district had only about 6.5 lakh registrations under the scheme, of which 4 to 4.5 lakh eligible women are already receiving benefits," she said. The minister said the state had initially received 2.63 crore registrations for the scheme.
After integrating data from the Income Tax Department, Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and e-KYC records, the number of eligible beneficiaries stands between 1.67 crore and 1.70 crore women. "This process is mandatory and essential to ensure that benefits reach the rightful citizens. For all Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes, including disaster relief compensation, e-KYC compliance has now become mandatory," she said. The minister acknowledged that there were initial difficulties as the verification exercise was being undertaken for the first time on such a scale, but maintained that the system had now been streamlined and eligible beneficiaries were receiving funds without disruption. She added that complaints from women who have completed e-KYC but are still facing issues are being examined individually. However, applicants who own vehicles, fall under the income tax category or fail to meet other eligibility norms will not be able to continue receiving benefits under the scheme.
The BriefWire