The Maharashtra government has found that at least 12,431 men were granted benefits under its flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana — the scheme for women that gives Rs 1,500 every month to those aged 21-65 from families earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually, according to data accessed by The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Responding to RTI queries from this newspaper, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, which runs the scheme, stated that these men have been removed from the list of beneficiaries, following verification, along with 77,980 women who were also identified as ineligible.
In all, the RTI response shows that 12,431 men and 77,980 women were wrongly disbursed Rs 1,500 for 13 months and 12 months, respectively, under the scheme — this works out to around Rs 24.24 crore for men, about Rs 140.28 crore for women, and at least Rs 164.52 crore overall.
The scheme was launched in June 2024, four months before the Assembly elections. In August 2024, the government announced an outlay of Rs 199.81 for the scheme’s publicity campaign. At the time, the Shiv Sena–BJP Mahayuti government under then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had faced flak from the Opposition, which described it as a pre-election populist measure.
Currently, approximately 2.41 crore women receive benefits under the scheme, costing the government nearly Rs 3,700 crore per month.
In a separate RTI response, the WCD Department stated that at least 2,400 government employees, including men, were among those who availed undue benefits under the scheme and that disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against them.
However, no action or recovery process has been initiated yet in any case of wrongful disbursement, the RTI response stated.
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On August 25 this year, the state’s Women Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare had posted in Marathi on X that “out of the beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, preliminary information from the Department of Information and Technology showed that around 26 lakh beneficiaries do not appear to meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria… across all districts in the state”.
She further wrote that “the Women and Child Development Department has provided the preliminary data to the respective district authorities for physical verification. Based on the detailed verification at the regional level, the eligibility or ineligibility of these beneficiaries will be confirmed”.
The Minister had posted that “after verification, those found ineligible will face appropriate action under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, while eligible beneficiaries will continue to receive benefits”.
Asked about the RTI data, a state government official described the irregularity as the “tip of the iceberg”. “We are yet to calculate the total amount paid to these ineligible accounts. These figures may rise as verification continues,” the official said, adding that disbursement of funds to 26.34 lakh suspect accounts was suspended in June-July 2025 pending verification.
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In the case of men claiming benefits, officials blamed the lack of adequate checks and balances as the scheme was rolled out. In one of the RTI responses, the WCD said male beneficiaries received monthly payments of Rs 1,500 each from July 2024 to July 2025.
“An estimated 12,431 men have availed benefits under the scheme. Benefits to male beneficiaries were stopped from July 2025. No decision has yet been taken at the government level regarding recovery of funds,” it stated.
In another response, the WCD Department stated: “Under the scheme, an estimated 77,980 women beneficiaries have been declared ineligible. They were found ineligible based on government resolutions dated June 28, July 3 and July 12, 2024, which outlines the eligibility and ineligibility criteria. Action against these beneficiaries is yet to be decided at the state level.”
Officials told this newspaper that the “irregularities” were uncovered during a verification exercise that mainly identified submission of wrong data, and misrepresentation of income and assets, as reasons behind the misuse of the scheme.
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“Some beneficiaries were availing multiple government schemes at the same time. In several households, more than two members were receiving benefits. Thousands of government staffers were found taking benefits despite being ineligible. Some had annual incomes exceeding ?2.5 lakh,” an official said.
On the government employees among beneficiaries, the RTI response stated that they were found across multiple departments, including “six in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development & Fisheries, 219 in Commissioner of Social Welfare, 47 in Commissioner of Tribal Development, 128 in Commissionerate of Agriculture, 817 in Directorate of Ayurveda… 1,183 are Zilla Parishads”.
“Several more names have surfaced during data reconciliation and are under scrutiny,” the official said, adding that “to prevent further misuse, a statewide e-KYC verification drive has been launched for all existing and new beneficiaries which will be completed soon”.
