'Name and shame them': Priyanka Chaturvedi after Maharashtra drops 92 lakh Ladki Bahin beneficiaries

Mumbai: Maharashtra's flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana has undergone one of the country's largest beneficiary verification exercises, resulting in the removal of more than 92 lakh beneficiaries from the scheme.

According reports by The Indian Express, the government records reviewed the number of deleted beneficiaries is significantly higher than the approximately 80 lakh removals that had been disclosed publicly by the state government earlier.

Officials associated with the verification exercise estimated that beneficiaries who were later removed had collectively received around Rs 14,000 crore before their payments were stopped. On average, these beneficiaries had received assistance for about ten months, although the duration varied depending on when each case was verified.

Priyanka Chaturvedi questions the government

Reacting to the findings, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned why the Maharashtra government had not publicly disclosed the identities of ineligible beneficiaries.

In a post on X, she wrote: "Shouldn't Maharashtra government name and shame the male beneficiaries and government employees who received the government welfare fund earmarked for women? Also a staggering 4.42 lakh of the 92 lakh were family members of a government employee."

In another post, she added: "The beneficiaries that were removed received 14000 crore in all before payments stopped. The beneficiaries received, on an average, 10 months of payout under the scheme."

Her remarks have intensified the political debate surrounding the implementation and verification of the welfare programme.

Why were 92 lakh beneficiaries removed?

Government records indicate that the largest reason for removal was the failure to complete the mandatory electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) verification.

The verification exercise found:

• Nearly 62 lakh beneficiaries (67%) failed to complete mandatory eKYC.
• Around 16 lakh (17%) belonged to families with annual incomes exceeding the Rs 2.5 lakh eligibility ceiling.
• About 4.42 lakh (4.8%) declared that they or a family member were government employees.
• Around 3.6 lakh (3.9%) were already receiving benefits under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana.
• Nearly 2.5 lakh (2.7%) involved more than two members of the same family receiving benefits.
• Around 1.8 lakh (2%) exceeded the upper age limit of 65 years.
• Nearly 1.7 lakh (1.8%) were rejected during district-level verification.
• Officials also identified approximately 29,000 men and 8,000 government employees who had received benefits despite being ineligible.

What is the Ladki Bahin scheme?

The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The scheme provides Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women aged 21 to 65 years from families with an annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh.

Government employees, income tax payers and beneficiaries receiving assistance under certain other welfare schemes are not eligible.

Before the verification drive, the scheme covered nearly 2.43 crore women. Following the verification exercise that began in September 2025, the number of beneficiaries has fallen to just over 1.5 crore.

Since its launch, allocations and supplementary provisions for the scheme have exceeded Rs 60,000 crore.

Government explains verification process

Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said the eKYC verification could not begin immediately after the scheme's launch because the 2024 Assembly election schedule and the Model Code of Conduct delayed the process.

According to the minister, the verification exercise started after the new government assumed office, and beneficiaries were repeatedly informed that payments would stop if mandatory eKYC was not completed. The deadline was extended multiple times, including until December 31, 2025.

Tatkare maintained that eligible beneficiaries continued receiving payments until the verification process concluded.

Will the government recover the money?

The Maharashtra government has clarified that recovery proceedings will not be initiated against all deleted beneficiaries.

According to Minister Aditi Tatkare, recovery will be limited to male beneficiaries, government employees and other ineligible recipients identified during verification. District Collectors have been directed to recover these payments through the Revenue Recovery mechanism.

CAG flags financial concerns

The developments come after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) highlighted concerns over the scheme's financial management in its audit of Maharashtra's 2024–25 finances.

The audit pointed to:

• Excess expenditure of about Rs 3,541 crore without specific justification.
• Around Rs 15,586 crore parked in government deposit accounts despite no immediate utilisation requirement.
• Weak expenditure controls and financial management practices.

The CAG recommended more realistic estimation of beneficiary numbers and funding requirements while planning large direct benefit transfer schemes.

The Maharashtra government has also reduced the scheme's allocation from Rs 36,000 crore in 2025–26 to Rs 26,500 crore in the current financial year. The promised increase in monthly assistance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 has not yet been implemented..