THE Maharashtra Government has decided to take action based on complaints about bogus beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, and sought information from the Income Tax Department and Transport Department for their verification. Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, who made this announcement on Thursday, made it clear that Government will only address complaints regarding bogus beneficiaries. Under the Mukyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, launched by the previous Eknath Shinde-led Government in August last year, eligible women are provided a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500. The scheme is said to have played a key role in the victory of the ruling MahaYuti in the November 20 elections.

 

“The Maharashtra Government is not taking any drive to scrutinise the beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana. We have not changed any Government policies. We are only addressing the complaints filed with local Government offices,” Tatkare said. Earlier, she had said that no scrutiny would be conducted regarding the beneficiaries of the scheme. “We have sought data from the Income Tax Department and the State Transport Department as some complaints involve beneficiaries with income above the set threshold or who own a four-wheeler. Once we receive this data, we will be able to address those complaints,” she said. When asked about how many of the 2.5 crore beneficiaries could be removed from the scheme following the scrutiny, she said, “We do not have any data about how many beneficiaries will be omitted from the scheme. We need some time to get a fair idea about it.”