Varsha Vinod Kopde has visited her bank twice since January to check if the sum of Rs 1,500 promised to her by the Maharashtra government has been credited to her account.
The money transfer under the Ladki Bahin Yojana was a crucial factor in shaping Kopde’s decision to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections held in November. It is widely believed to have propelled the BJP and its allies to a landslide victory in Maharashtra.
But two months after the new government took over, the 25-year-old housewife from Bramhapuri district is disappointed. “I feel bad that the money that was promised to us is not coming,” she said, referring to the January and February deposits that have still not been made.
Kopde’s husband works in a utensil shop. There are five members in her family, including her two children. With the Ladki Bahin money, she was able to buy rations for the family and have her son treated in a private hospital when he fell ill last year. Kopde says her family’s income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh, a prerequisite to avail the scheme, and the family does not benefit from any other government scheme.
“But despite being eligible, the money is not getting deposited,” she fumed.
Reality check
The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government, headed by Eknath Shinde, launched the cash transfer scheme in August with a massive budgetary allocation of Rs 35,000 crore for 2024-’25.
The scheme promised Rs 1,500 per month to women between 18 years and 65 years – as long as their annual family income was below Rs 2.5 lakh, they did not benefit from other government welfare schemes, were not permanent government employees and did not own a four-wheeler.
But, with an eye on the high-stakes Assembly polls, the government initially ignored the eligibility requirements and made cash deposits to almost every woman who had applied for the scheme. Former chief minister Eknath Shinde even promised to increase the amount to Rs 2,100 if voted to power.
In Chandrapur’s Surbodi village, former sarpanch Rekha Dongre said the monthly disbursement was prompt until last October. By then 2.46 crore women had received Rs 6,000 in their accounts.
But after the elections, as the fiscal burden of the scheme – Rs 43,380 crore a year – becomes apparent, the state government’s enthusiasm for the cash transfer scheme is waning.
Dongre said the disbursement has faltered in her village. “Forget Rs 2,100. Several women have not received Rs 1,500 after December,” she said. “They are angry. They are questioning how the government was able to ensure regular transfers before the election and has begun to delay the instalments now.”
There is also widespread confusion over whether the government wants back the money it has already transferred to women who did not meet the eligibility requirements. Moreover, as the scheme drains the Maharashtra government’s finances, beneficiaries of other welfare schemes are feeling the pinch.
Withdrawal symptoms
In January, the state women and child development department began scrutiny of Ladki Bahin beneficiaries. From 2.46 crore, the number of beneficiaries was reduced to 2.41 crore.
The five lakh women removed from the list were found ineligible – either their family income was found above Rs 2.5 lakh, or they owned a four-wheeler or were benefiting from other government welfare schemes.
Those who have been dropped from the scheme have not been informed, though several districts reported delays in payment.
In Kolhapur, Netradeepa Patil, an accredited social health activist who is not a beneficiary of the scheme, said women in her village have been complaining of not receiving the January or the February instalments.
In Nanded, activist Kailas Yesge said that women are angry with the government. “Several who did not receive money suspect they have been removed from the list. They are angry. They ask why the government paid them willingly before elections. They are seeing it as a bribe,” he told Scroll.
Several recipients in Jalna, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Nanded, and rural Nashik reported delays in receiving the instalments of the last two months. Such complaints were fewer among residents of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik that Scroll spoke to.
Maya Bholap, an accredited social health activist in rural Nashik, said the last instalment came on December 9. “For January’s instalment, women can do nothing but wait,” she said.
In Mumbai, Farheen Sayyed, a resident of Bandra East, said the money has reached her bank account regularly. “Women around me too have received instalments,” she said.
In contrast, Bharti Gaware believes her name has been cut from the list. A domestic worker in Mumbai, she earns Rs 9,000 and her husband Rs 10,000 per month. Their annual income adds up to Rs 2.28 lakh.
“Others around me have received their January instalment. But when I visited the bank, they told me no deposit has been made in my account,” Gaware said, confused over why there is a delay. “I don’t know who to approach and ask if my name is there.”
Gaware is, however, not angry. “I knew the scheme would stop one day,” she said. “Whatever money came is still there in my account.”
The refund question
Although women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare announced on February 9 that the money disbursed to ineligible women would not be taken back, the state government has created a separate head under the finance department to receive money that women are willing to return.
Confusion over whether the government intends to recover money is widespread in villages.
In Sankanpuri, a village in Jalna, resident Mukta Shinde said the gram panchayat asked women to return money if they were found ineligible or were benefitting from other welfare schemes.
“This was two months ago,” Shinde said, “The gram sevak put out a notice on his WhatsApp status,” Shinde said. Scroll checked with the gram panchayat which said no official notice was put outside the office.
Local activist Sarita Khandare said some women, afraid of punitive action if they were found ineligible, have approached gram panchayats, saying they are willing to return the money.
Khandare said women are now questioning the government’s intent to continue the scheme. “This scheme has put financial stress on other welfare schemes. We know that the government will not be able to continue it for long. This was an election stunt,” Khandare said.
Other schemes under pressure
The Ladki Bahin scheme would have provided a big financial support to Mukta Shinde, a widow who works on the farmlands of Jalna district.
“But I was told that if I am benefiting from any other government scheme, I can't apply,” she said.
Shinde is a beneficiary of Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, a welfare scheme that gives Rs 1,500 every month to destitute persons, among others. So she did not apply for Ladki Bahin.
Since August last year, however, when the Ladki Bahin scheme’s disbursement began, Shinde has stopped receiving monthly deposits under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar scheme. “I have complained multiple times to the tehsildar,” she said.
Shinde’s husband passed away over a decade ago. Her only source of earning is now farm work through which she earns Rs 200 a day. “I don’t have enough to support my daughter’s education,” she said. Her daughter is a Class 12 student.
The financial toll of Ladki Bahin has also impacted other schemes. In a recent cabinet meeting, the government mulled over discontinuing Shiv Bhajan Thali, a scheme which provides cooked meals to poor people, and Anandacha Sidha, a kit of grocery items for the poor.
The disbursement for Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana has also been delayed. The scheme, launched just before state elections, provided funds for senior citizens to travel to pilgrim sites.
In Gadchiroli, farmer Bhumika Kamble said several politicians discussed Ladki Bahin’s benefits while campaigning for assembly elections but “now there is no conversation”. Kamble too has not received funds under the scheme despite being eligible.
