Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) MLA Jayant Patil has strongly criticised the Maharashtra government after it emerged that nearly 80 lakh women have been declared ineligible under the Chief Minister's Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. With the exclusions, the number of beneficiaries under the scheme has reportedly dropped to
1.66 crore.
Patil questioned the government's handling of the scheme and alleged that the beneficiary verification exercise was being carried out to reduce the financial burden on the state exchequer.
In a post on X, Patil wrote, "In view of the severe setback suffered in the Lok Sabha elections, the government launched a programme to distribute money to women under the Ladki Bahin Yojana ahead of the Assembly elections.
Now, as many as 80 lakh women beneficiaries of the same scheme have been declared ineligible. This appears to be a case of using people when needed and then abandoning them afterwards."
He further said that the development was indicative of the serious financial crisis facing the state. "The first impact of this crisis has been felt by the beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin scheme. The state is facing a substantial fiscal deficit, and the global economic slowdown has further aggravated the situation," he said.
Patil stated, "Today, 80 lakh women beneficiaries have been declared ineligible. Tomorrow, several lakh more women could be disqualified on one pretext or another. It would not be surprising if the government gradually winds up the scheme altogether."
He added, "Had the government properly planned the scheme from the beginning, this situation could have been avoided."
The former minister also demanded accountability for alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. He said that if ineligible beneficiaries had indeed received financial assistance for nearly two years, responsibility must be fixed on officials who failed to detect the discrepancies earlier.
The Maharashtra government is yet to officially respond to Patil's allegations.
