Maharashtra’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana | Explained
The story so far: Ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the State government launched the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. Under this scheme, eligible
The story so far: Ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the State government launched the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. Under this scheme, eligible women in the State receive ₹1,500 every month through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). At its peak, the scheme covered 2.43 crore beneficiaries. However, successive rounds of verification over the past two years have led to the removal of lakhs of beneficiaries, bringing the total down to about 1.66 crore women. The recent removal of lakhs of women from the beneficiaries’ list has sparked criticism, and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has raised concerns about the scheme. Who is eligible to receive funds under the scheme? Women who are residents of Maharashtra, aged between 21 and 65 years, with an Aadhaar-linked bank account, and belonging to a family with an annual income of less than ₹2.5 lakh are eligible to receive benefits under the scheme. Women of any marital status, including those who are married, widowed, divorced or unmarried, are eligible. However, only one woman per family can avail of the benefit.
What is the purpose of the scheme? The Maharashtra government said the scheme, launched in June 2024 ahead of the Assembly elections, is aimed at promoting the economic independence of women. It also seeks to improve their health and nutritional status, and strengthen their role in family decision-making, according to the government. The scheme is implemented by the State’s Women and Child Development Department. What are the red flags raised by the CAG in its latest report? The CAG said the implementation of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana during 2024-25 was marked by “significant deficiencies in Budget estimation, expenditure control, and financial management.” While the scheme was allocated ₹29,693.09 crore for the fiscal year, the government incurred an expenditure of ₹33,237.24 crore, resulting in an excess expenditure of ₹3,541.16 crore. The CAG described the excess expenditure was “unjustified” and said the Women and Child Development Department failed to provide any specific justification for the overspending. It further observed that funds for the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana were mobilised by reappropriating allocations from other schemes.
For instance, ₹3,490.75 crore was reappropriated from the Lek Ladki Yojana. The State’s supplementary Budget also allocated ₹26,200 crore for the scheme. The CAG also expressed concern that the scheme undermined the principles of budgetary discipline, financial propriety and legislative control over public finances. It said that “significant excess expenditure remained unexplained” and that large sums were drawn and parked in the Disbursing Officer’s Virtual Personal Deposit Account (VPDA). “This indicates that the funds were not required for immediate utilisation and were drawn without actual expenditure needs, contrary to the principles of budgetary discipline and financial propriety,” the CAG observed. “A test check of vouchers exceeding ₹1,000 crore relating to the scheme, aggregating ₹29,732.01 crore, showed that ₹15,586 crore drawn between January and March 2025 was transferred to the Drawing and Disbursing Officer’s VPDA,” the report said. Why have so many names been removed from the beneficiaries’ list? At its peak, the scheme had 2.43 crore beneficiaries. According to the Maharashtra government, the number has since fallen to 1.66 crore. The government said the names were removed after multiple rounds of verification found that some beneficiaries no longer met the eligibility criteria.
The BriefWire