Mumbai | The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Thursday said the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana has emerged as one of biggest scandals in Maharashtra's history as more than 80 lakh beneficiaries were found ineligible after receiving aid, resulting in a loss of Rs 24,300 crore to the state exchequer.
How did the BJP-led government, which claims to be committed to transparency and good governance, allow such massive misuse of public money, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked at a press conference here.
As per available figures, nearly 81 lakh beneficiaries out of the total 2.47 crore recipients of the flagship scheme have been found ineligible after funds had already been disbursed, he said. Those found ineligible include approximately 14,000 men, nearly 10 lakh taxpayers, 5 lakh government employees, and several lakh vehicle owners, Tapase added.
"The people of Maharashtra deserve answers. Was this a welfare scheme or an election campaign funded at taxpayer's expense? A government that distributed thousands of crores without even basic verification cannot escape its moral responsibility," Tapase asked.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' admission that the state government relied on self-certification instead of proper scrutiny before the elections amounts to an acknowledgement of administrative failure, he claimed.
"The Mahayuti government deliberately bypassed the necessary verification process with the intention of influencing voters before the elections. This was not social justice; it was the plunder of taxpayers' money and the acquisition of political power through that misuse. This way, the government has caused an estimated loss of Rs 24,300 crore," the NCP (SP) leader alleged.
Tapase demanded that the CM immediately disclose who approved the beneficiary verification process, who failed to identify the ineligible beneficiaries, and what disciplinary or penal action will be taken against the officials responsible for this grave negligence.
"The BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP must collectively accept moral responsibility for the financial loss and compensate the state exchequer for the enormous damage caused. Every rupee squandered belongs to the taxpayers of Maharashtra," Tapase said.
The Rs 24,300 crore lost in this process would have significantly improved the lives of millions of citizens as it could have been used to provide permanent drinking water facilities to thousands of drought-affected villages, build irrigation infrastructure, strengthen rural road networks, modernize district hospitals, and upgrade infrastructure in government schools, he said.
Instead, the Mahayuti government chose politics over development and publicity over proper planning, Tapase said.
The Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched in August 2024 under the Eknath Shinde government. Under the scheme, women in the 21-60 age group, subject to certain conditions like annual family income limit of Rs 2.5 lakh, get Rs 1500 per month as financial aid.
It was considered one of the primary reasons for the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sen and the NCP, sweeping the Maharashtra assembly polls in November 2024.