Bihar men get ₹10,000 under women employment scheme; govt rules out recovery

The Bihar government said it will not force 470 men to return ₹10,000 wrongly credited under Mahila Rojgar Yojana; officials say errors happened, mostly funds went to women

The Bihar government has said it will not take any “coercive action” to recover money from people who wrongly received benefits under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, according to a report by The Indian Express.

 

Under the scheme, ₹10,000 is being transferred as the first instalment to eligible women beneficiaries. The clarification comes after it emerged that 470 differently-abled men had mistakenly received the amount since the scheme was launched two months ago - ahead of the Assembly elections.

 

How the error came to light

 

Since the launch of the scheme, around 15.1 million women have received ₹10,000 each. The beneficiaries are required to be members of the Bihar government’s Jeevika Self-Help Groups.

 

Explaining the mistake, Bihar Jeevika CEO Himanshu Pandey blamed officials for a “gross error”. He told The Indian Express, “Apart from the 1.1 million women self-help groups, we also have 1,000 such groups of divyang (the disabled). We detected that 470 differently abled men have also received ₹10,000 each under the Mahila Rojgar Yojana."

 

Pandey further said that out of the 70 cases reported from Darbhanga, notices were issued to 12 beneficiaries, asking them to either return the money or have it adjusted against the accounts of newly eligible women applicants from their families.

 

Pandey clarified that the government would not compel recipients to return the money. He said that errors can occur when implementing such a large scheme and noted that the discrepancy was detected internally. He added that the first option offered to the men was to adjust the amount in favour of eligible women from their own families.   

 

Recovery challenges in Darbhanga

 

Earlier, news agency PTI reported that Bihar government officials were struggling to recover ₹10,000 that was allegedly transferred to male villagers in Darbhanga district. Several men had already spent the money. Some used it during Chhath Puja and Diwali, while others bought ducks and goats. Many are now unwilling or unable to return the amount.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana on September 26, ahead of the Assembly elections. Under the scheme, ₹10,000 was transferred to the bank accounts of around 1.40 crore women entrepreneurs.

 

Minister seeks report, Opposition raises questions

 

Bihar Rural Development Minister Sharwan Kumar said the issue was serious. “I have asked Jeevika officials to submit a detailed report of such transfers, if any, to me at the earliest. It's a matter of concern,” he told PTI. The Jeevika scheme falls under the rural development department.

 

The episode has raised questions about the implementation and payment systems of government welfare schemes. Villagers have expressed confusion and resentment over the notices.

 

Meanwhile, the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has alleged that NDA leaders were in such a rush to “buy votes” and return to power that ₹10,000 was transferred to the accounts of some men instead of women.

 

(With agency inputs)