Over 14,000 men fraudulently received benefits from Maharashtra’s flagship welfare scheme ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’, which was designed exclusively to assist economically weaker women aged 21 to 65 years. The revelation has sparked political backlash and raised troubling questions over the implementation and oversight of the programme, which was launched just months before the 2024 Assembly polls.
The scheme, which promises ₹1,500 per month to eligible women whose household income is below ₹2.5 lakh, has been under scrutiny since the Opposition alleged it was riddled with irregularities. Now, an audit by the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) has confirmed that 14,298 men managed to register as female beneficiaries, illegally drawing ₹21.44 crore from the exchequer.
“Ladki Bahin scheme was launched to help poor women. There is absolutely no reason why men should be its beneficiaries. We will recover the money given to them. If they do not cooperate, further action will be taken,” said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The scale of the misuse is not restricted to gender fraud alone. The same audit has found that the scheme’s first year incurred losses worth ₹1,640 crore due to widespread violations of eligibility rules. These included households with more than two women applicants, overaged recipients, and families owning four-wheelers, all of whom were not meant to receive benefits.
Among the most alarming findings was that 7.97 lakh women from families already having two enrolled female members also registered for the scheme. This alone accounted for a loss of ₹1,196 crore. Another ₹431.7 crore was disbursed to 2.87 lakh women above the age cap of 65 years.
The WCD audit further revealed that 1.62 lakh women from families owning cars, which automatically disqualifies them, also received monthly payouts under the scheme.
Also read: Budget 2025: What’s in store for Ladki, Bahin, and Didis?
Opposition leaders, including NCP MP Supriya Sule, have called for a deeper probe. “How did these men fill the forms? Who helped them? Which company was given the contract for registrations? There’s a bigger conspiracy behind this. The company should be investigated, and the matter should be probed by an SIT or the ED,” Sule said.
Following mounting concerns over misuse, the state government undertook corrective measures. In December 2024, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a comprehensive review of the scheme. WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare, who had promised accountability in January, confirmed that by February, 5 lakh ineligible beneficiaries had been removed.
Tatkare later stated, “The Department of Women and Child Development had sought information from all government departments to verify the eligibility of all applications. Accordingly, the Information and Technology Department reported that approximately 26.34 lakh beneficiaries, despite being ineligible, were availing benefits of the scheme. It has been found that some beneficiaries were availing the benefits of multiple schemes, some families had more than two beneficiaries, and in some cases, men had applied for the scheme. Based on this information, starting from June 2025, the benefits for these 26.34 lakh applicants have been temporarily suspended. Additionally, approximately 2.25 crore eligible beneficiaries of the scheme have been disbursed the honorarium for the month of June 2025.”
Despite the ongoing corrective measures, the systemic gaps in digital verification and oversight continue to haunt the programme’s credibility. Political analysts believe the scheme, while ambitious in intent, may now become a cautionary tale in welfare governance, especially when welfare delivery is aligned with electoral cycles.
The episode raises larger questions about the digitisation of welfare systems and the need for rigorous identity checks, cross-departmental data coordination, and regular audits.
Follow us
