Several beneficiaries claimed they were unable to complete e-KYC due to portal errors and procedural hurdles
Nearly 70 lakh women beneficiaries under Maharashtra’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana have been declared ineligible following a large-scale e-KYC and eligibility verification drive conducted by the state government.
The verification exercise has led to a significant reduction in the number of women receiving the monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500 under the scheme.
Minister of State for Women and Child Development Meghana Bordikar said the government had repeatedly extended the deadline for mandatory e-KYC compliance, but a large number of beneficiaries still failed to complete the process.
“We extended the e-KYC deadline for nearly four to five months. Even after providing sufficient time, around 70 lakh women did not complete the process. This indicates that many of them were not genuinely eligible beneficiaries,” Bordikar said.
The scheme, launched ahead of the Assembly elections as one of the Mahayuti government’s key welfare programmes, initially covered around 2.46 crore women across Maharashtra. However, after Aadhaar authentication, bank account verification and scrutiny of income eligibility criteria, the number of beneficiaries receiving payments for February 2026 dropped to nearly 1.76 crore.
Officials from the Women and Child Development Department said the verification process uncovered duplicate applications, mismatched Aadhaar details, invalid bank account information and cases where beneficiaries allegedly did not meet the income eligibility norms.
The government had made e-KYC mandatory after concerns emerged over irregularities and insufficient scrutiny during the rapid rollout of the scheme.
The removal of a large number of beneficiaries is also expected to reduce pressure on the state exchequer. In the Maharashtra Budget for 2026–27, the allocation for the Ladki Bahin Scheme was reduced by 26 per cent to Rs 26,500 crore, compared to Rs 36,000 crore in the previous financial year.
Despite the government’s claims that adequate time was given, several women alleged that technical glitches and procedural hurdles prevented them from completing corrections or updating their documents.
Activists working with women’s groups in rural Maharashtra said many genuine beneficiaries may have been excluded due to poor internet connectivity, lack of digital literacy and confusion over changing deadlines. They urged the government to provide a final grievance redressal mechanism for affected women.
However, Bordikar defended the exercise, stating that the government had organised multiple camps and awareness drives to ensure compliance.
“The government repeatedly appealed to beneficiaries to complete e-KYC. Camps were organised, and deadlines were extended multiple times. Genuine beneficiaries who completed the process are receiving benefits without interruption,” she said speaking to Times of India.
She added that the pending instalments for March and April 2026 were currently being disbursed to eligible beneficiaries.
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