Did Devendra Fadnavis govt cut Ladki Bahin scheme aid from ₹1500 to ₹500? Ministers clarify

Maharashtra ministers Ajit Pawar and Aditi Tatkare have clarified that no eligible woman has been excluded from the Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and that no changes have been made in the amount of assistance paid under the scheme.

Their response came amid reports claiming that the state government had reduced the stipend of eight lakh beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana because they were also receiving benefits under another government scheme, the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi (NSMN).

The Maharashtra government, under its flagship, the Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, promised ₹1,500 every month as financial assistance to women eligible for the scheme.

What did Maharashtra govt say?

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Tuesday night that the government's flagship Ladki Bahin scheme will continue and that there is no question of scrapping it.

"The budgetary allocation for the implementation of the scheme has been made, and there is no question of scrapping it," Pawar was quoted by news agency PTI. 

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare clarified on the process involved when women are enrolled in two welfare schemes.

Reacting to the reports, she posted on X on Tuesday that some 7.74 lakh women — already getting ₹1,000 under another scheme — are being paid the difference of ₹500.

" ₹1,500 per month are paid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana to women who are not taking advantage of any other government scheme. To those who are receiving a benefit of less than ₹1,500 under other schemes, the difference is paid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana," Tatkare explained.

"In line with this policy, the difference of ₹500 is being paid to 7,74,148 women who are receiving ₹1,000 per month under the Namo Shetkari Samman Yojana," the NCP leader said in a post on X.

"No eligible woman has been excluded from the Ladki Bahin scheme, and no change has been made in the said process after July 3, 2024," Tatkare said, adding she clarified the same during the budget session of the state legislature.