Over 12,000 men received benefits under Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin Yojana

The Women and Child Development Department, which administers the scheme, said that these men had been removed from the beneficiary list, along with 77,980 women who were also found ineligible

The Maharashtra government has discovered that at least 12,431 men were granted benefits under its flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, a welfare scheme intended exclusively for women, according to information obtained by The Indian Express through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The scheme provides ₹1,500 per month to women aged 21–65 from families with an annual income below ₹2.5 lakh.

 

The Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, which administers the scheme, said the men had been removed from the list of beneficiaries following verification, along with 77,980 women who were also found ineligible.

 

Funds wrongly disbursed to ineligible beneficiaries

 

 

The RTI response revealed that 12,431 men and 77,980 women were erroneously paid ₹1,500 for 13 months and 12 months, respectively. The total incorrect disbursement amounts to approximately ₹24.24 crore for men, ₹140.28 crore for women, and at least ₹164.52 crore in all. Currently, approximately 24.1 million women receive benefits under the scheme, which costs the state government around ₹3,700 crore every month.

 

Government employees among those who claimed benefits

 

In a separate RTI response, the WCD Department acknowledged that at least 2,400 government employees, including some men, had availed of undue benefits under the scheme. The department said disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against those found involved.

 

However, the RTI reply also noted that no recovery or punitive action had yet been taken in any of the cases of wrongful disbursement.

 

Tip of the iceberg, says official

 

Responding to the Indian Express's findings, a senior state government official described the irregularity as the “tip of the iceberg”. The official added, “We are yet to calculate the total amount paid to these ineligible accounts. These figures may rise as verification continues.”

 

According to the official, payments to 2.634 million suspect accounts were suspended between June and July 2025. Officials attributed the irregularities to inadequate checks and verification processes during the scheme’s rollout.