The Maharashtra government disbursed over Rs 9,605 crore to ineligible beneficiaries under its Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. The scheme provides a monthly transfer of Rs 1,500 to eligible women whose families earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh per year.
The Maharashtra government has been under scrutiny for disbursing over Rs 9,605 crore to ineligible beneficiaries under its Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (MMBLY) scheme. 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.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, data obtained through a Right to Information application revealed that of the 92 lakh beneficiaries, sixty-two lakh had failed to complete the e-KYC process. In the case of 16 lakh beneficiaries, the 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 report also stated that 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. This pushed monthly payouts above Rs 3,640 crore, compared with Rs 2,450 crore that should have been disbursed.
In October 2025, Nationalist Congress Party leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal claimed that all government departments were facing a fund crunch because of the Ladki Bahin scheme. In February 2026, state minister Ganesh Naik acknowledged that the scheme had put financial strain on government departments but said it would not be discontinued.
RTI data showed that over two years, the state government spent Rs 76,261 crore on the scheme, recording 46.1 crore payments instead of the 39.7 crore that should have been made. The excess 6.4 crore credit entries accounted for Rs 9,605 crore paid to beneficiaries later found to be ineligible.
The government will recover the money only from government employees and officers who received the payments, an unidentified official of the state women and child development department told the Hindustan Times.
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