Maharashtra begins recovering ₹11 crore from government staff who ‘wrongly’ took Ladki Bahin funds
4 min readMumbaiApr 25, 2026 07:20 PM IST
The state government has recovered around ₹11 crore from ineligible beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, with a significant portion of the recoveries coming from government employees who had wrongly availed of the scheme despite being ineligible.
The action follows the detection of large-scale irregularities in the scheme, including instances of government employees and even men receiving the monthly assistance despite being explicitly barred from the eligibility criteria.
“After the government initiated action, some beneficiaries voluntarily returned the money, while a few came forward and had their names removed from the scheme. In cases where beneficiaries did not return the funds despite being identified, recovery proceedings have been initiated,” a senior official said, adding that the actions like stalling salary, promotions and appraisals have also been initiated against some of the staffers.
The official added that recoveries in several cases have been made through salary deductions, with action being taken department-wise.
Officials said the number of government employees found to have availed the benefits is far higher than initially estimated. While the government had earlier identified around 2,400 such employees, information accessed by The Indian Express under the RTI Act in December last year showed that at least 12,915 government staff had received the ₹1,500 monthly assistance.
Action against such employees was initiated following a July 29, 2025 communication issued by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, which directed departments to proceed under applicable Maharashtra Civil Services rules against officials who had availed benefits despite being ineligible. The communication also sought action taken reports and reiterated that government employees are barred under the scheme.
Subsequently, the Rural Development Department wrote to all Zilla Parishads directing them to initiate recovery and disciplinary action.
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The recovery drive follows earlier findings that irregularities in the scheme were far more widespread. In October, The Indian Express had reported that at least ₹164.52 crore had been wrongly disbursed to 12,431 men and 77,980 ineligible women, in addition to government employees.
Subsequent verification flagged large-scale discrepancies, with officials saying around 57 lakh beneficiaries were either flagged or removed as scrutiny intensified. Earlier, nearly 26 lakh beneficiaries had been identified as potentially ineligible, with payments to 26.34 lakh accounts halted pending verification.
Officials had described the irregularities as “the tip of the iceberg”, suggesting that the scale of discrepancies could increase further.
Launched in June 2024, the scheme provides ₹1,500 per month to women aged 21–65 years from families with an annual income below ₹2.5 lakh.
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Currently, the number of beneficiaries under the scheme stands at 1.57 crore, with the state having allocated ₹36,000 crore for the programme.
On October 9, 2025, WCD Secretary Anup Kumar Yadav wrote to the Rural Development Department seeking a report on recovery from male beneficiaries, but officials said no recovery notices have been issued to men so far. Yadav confirmed that recovery has started and said that the amount from the male beneficiaries would also begin.
The WCD Department did not respond to queries on the timeline for initiating recovery from male beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said the deadline for e-KYC verification has been extended to April 30, offering beneficiaries more time to complete the process.
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The extension, earlier set to end on March 31, was approved following discussions with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, she said, adding that this would be the final opportunity for eligible beneficiaries to regularise their records.
