Maharashtra paid Rs 9,605 crore to ineligible beneficiaries under Ladki Bahin scheme: Report

The Maharashtra government disbursed Rs 9,605 crore to 92 lakh ineligible beneficiaries under its Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana in two years, reported the Hindustan Times citing data obtained through a Right to Information application.

The scheme, launched in June 2024, provides a monthly transfer of Rs 1,500 to women aged 21 to 65 whose families earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh per year.

Though verification drives removed several categories of ineligible recipients, payments had already been made to them, the Hindustan Times reported.

Of the 92 lakh beneficiaries removed by June 2026, sixty-two lakh had failed to complete the e-KYC, or Know Your Customer process, the newspaper reported. In the case of 16 lakh beneficiaries, the Rs 2.5 lakh annual family income limit had been exceeded.

Another 3.6 lakh women were already receiving benefits under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana, 2.5 lakh were removed because another family member was enrolled, 1.8 lakh were over the age limit of 65 and 4.5 lakh were government employees.

A further 1.7 lakh beneficiaries were excluded after district-level verification, the Hindustan Times reported.

However, more than 2.1 crore women received payments for 17 months till November 2025 and the number of beneficiaries was 2.4 crore between February 2025 and May 2025, the newspaper reported.

This pushed monthly payouts above Rs 3,640 crore, compared with Rs 2,450...

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