Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin scheme paid ₹9,605cr to ineligible 92L
Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin Scheme, meant to help low-income women with ₹1,500 per month, paid out ₹9,605 crore to 92 lakh people who didn't qualify by June 2026.
The scheme launched in August 2024 with good intentions, but ended up facing major issues after checks found lots of rule-breakers and the number of eligible women dropped sharply.
e-KYC failures, duplicates, 4.5L government employees
Many people skipped the required e-KYC step; some had family income above the allowed ₹2.5 lakh per year; and 4.5 lakh were actually government employees, none of whom should have gotten the money.
There were also cases of duplicate enrollments and overlapping benefits from the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said funds will be recovered from government employees and officers who received the monthly payout, but not from other beneficiaries.