BJP government in Maharashtra distributed ₹9,605 crore to fake beneficiaries: Report
The scheme is believed to have played a crucial role in the Mahayuti alliance's victory in the assembly elections.
From the outset, the BJP-led Mahayuti government's flagship 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' has faced allegations of imposing a heavy burden on the state's treasury. It has now emerged that ₹9,605 crore was distributed to individuals who were not eligible for the scheme, meaning fake beneficiaries received ₹9,605 crore.
This scheme, which provides financial assistance of ₹1,500 per month to women from economically weaker sections, was launched in July 2024. It is believed to have played a significant role in the Mahayuti alliance's victory in the Assembly elections.
Despite multiple checks and screenings of the beneficiaries' list over the past two years, not all ineligible beneficiaries could be excluded. According to information obtained by Hindustan Times (HT) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the state government spent ₹9,605 crore on 92 lakh ineligible beneficiaries by June 2026.
Among these, 62 lakh beneficiaries were removed for not completing e-KYC. 16 lakh people were excluded because their family's annual income exceeded the stipulated limit of ₹2.5 lakh. 3.6 lakh beneficiaries were already availing benefits from the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana. 2.5 lakh people were removed because another family member was also registered under the scheme. Additionally, 1.8 lakh beneficiaries were over 65 years of age, while 4.5 lakh beneficiaries were government employees. After district-level verification, another 1.7 lakh beneficiaries were also excluded from the scheme.
Currently, the number of eligible beneficiaries under the scheme is 1.657 crore. However, payments were made to over 2.1 crore people continuously for 17 months until November 2025. Between February and May 2025, the number of beneficiaries increased to 2.472 crore. As a result, more than ₹3,640 crore was paid monthly, whereas only about ₹2,450 crore should have been paid based on the actual eligible beneficiaries.
The state government has spent a total of ₹76,261 crore on this scheme over 24 months. During this period, there should have been a total of 39.758 crore credit entries, but in reality, 46.1 crore credit entries were recorded.
According to information obtained through RTI, this resulted in ₹9,605 crore reaching the accounts of ineligible beneficiaries through 6.403 crore additional credit entries.
Interestingly, the government will not recover this amount from most ineligible beneficiaries. Only those government employees and officials who received the monthly ₹1,500 under the scheme will be asked to return the money.
An official from the state's Women and Child Development Department, overseeing the Ladki Bahin Yojana, stated, “
The Chief Minister announced this decision before the monsoon session of the state assembly in June. The official said, “We have written to district collector offices to recover the amount from government employees and officials and have also requested a report. There are 4.5 lakh such beneficiaries who availed the scheme in the initial months and need to be recovered from. The amount will not be recovered from other beneficiaries.
According to the official, many of the 62 lakh beneficiaries who did not complete e-KYC did so out of fear that they might face action for availing the scheme despite being ineligible.
Hindustan Times reports that during the verification campaign, many categories of ineligible beneficiaries were removed from the scheme, but payments had already been made to them. This led to monthly payments under the scheme exceeding ₹3,640 crore, whereas only about ₹2,450 crore should have been paid based on eligible beneficiaries.
According to RTI data, the Maharashtra government spent a total of ₹76,261 crore on this scheme over two years. During this period, 39.7 crore payments should have been made, but in reality, 46.1 crore payments were made. Thus, an additional 6.4 crore payment entries were recorded, through which ₹9,605 crore was given to beneficiaries who were later found to be ineligible.
According to an unnamed official from the state's Women and Child Development Department, as reported by Hindustan Times,
the government will only recover the amount from those government employees and officials who availed the scheme. According to the official, the amount paid to other ineligible beneficiaries will not be recovered.
According to the report, about 1.6 crore women remain eligible under the scheme now.
There has been ongoing controversy regarding the financial pressure on Maharashtra's finances due to the Ladki Bahin Yojana. Even in monthly checks, a large number of ineligible people were found to be included in the scheme. It is believed that this scheme played a significant role in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance winning 230 out of 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly elections in November 2024.
In October, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal claimed that.
Due to the Ladki Bahin Yojana, all government departments are facing a shortage of funds.
In February, state minister Ganesh Naik also acknowledged that the scheme has put financial pressure on government departments. However, he stated that the scheme would not be discontinued. During the scheme's review in July 2025, it was also revealed that over 14,000 men received money under the scheme for 10 months. Opposition leaders alleged that the Maharashtra government is reducing the number of beneficiaries due to the state's financial troubles.