Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare on Monday dismissed reports claiming that a large number of eligible beneficiaries had been arbitrarily removed from the state's flagship Ladli Behna Yojana. She said the government had identified nearly 15 lakh ineligible applicants through a statewide verification exercise and stressed that every effort was being made to ensure no deserving woman was excluded from the scheme.
Her clarification came after reports alleged that the Devendra Fadnavis-led government had removed more than 90 lakh beneficiaries from the scheme, which provides eligible women with a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500.
Responding to concerns over the ongoing verification process, Tatkare said the exercise was intended to identify ineligible applicants and improve 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 eight lakh women have yet to complete the e-KYC process. The verification 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 also rejected reports claiming that 28 lakh women had been disqualified in Beed district, calling the figures "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 applications under the scheme. Following integration of records from the Income Tax Department, Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and e-KYC data, the number of eligible beneficiaries now 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.
Tatkare acknowledged that the large-scale verification exercise initially posed challenges, but said the system has since been streamlined and eligible beneficiaries are receiving payments without interruption.
She added that complaints from women who have completed their e-KYC but continue to face issues are being examined on a case-by-case basis. However, applicants who own vehicles, fall under the income tax category or do not satisfy other eligibility conditions will not continue to receive benefits under the scheme.
The minister further said the government has begun recovering funds from ineligible beneficiaries. Recovery proceedings against government employees who wrongly availed of the scheme started a few months ago, with recovered amounts being deposited into a separate state treasury account. The state has also initiated action to recover money from men who allegedly obtained benefits by using women's identities.
The clarification came a day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis transferred Rs 1,835 crore as the latest instalment of the Ladli Behna Yojana to more than 1.25 crore beneficiaries. He described the scheme as a "revolutionary" initiative for women's empowerment and reaffirmed the government's commitment to supporting women in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.
