92 Lakh Dropped: Maharashtra Shrinks Ladki Bahin Scheme Base by 38%

Public Lokpal
July 13, 2026

Mumbai: A massive verification drive has resulted in Maharashtra removing over 92 lakh beneficiaries from its flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, marking a 38% drop from its peak enrollment of 2.43 crore women.

Government data reveals that a staggering 62 lakh applicants were disqualified for failing to complete mandatory eKYC verification. Strict eligibility filters weeded out another 16 lakh income-tax payers, 4.42 lakh families with government employees, and 3.6 lakh women already receiving dual benefits. Shockingly, the audit also exposed nearly 29,000 men fraudulently registered for the monthly ₹1,500 stipend.

While the state government defends the cleanup as a necessary measure to eliminate fraud and slash the fiscal burden from ₹36,000 crore to ₹26,500 crore, the opposition has hit back. Critics accuse the government of using administrative hurdles like eKYC as an excuse to downsize the scheme due to an ongoing financial crunch.