Planning to cut ineligible Ladki Bahin beneficiaries, says Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar emphasizes fiscal responsibility as finance minister, plans to cut costs of the Ladki Bahin Yojana by removing ineligible beneficiaries.

MUMBAI: He was once accused of stealing credit for the Mahayuti government’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme, even calling it ‘Ajitdada’s Ladki Bahin Yojana’ during his election campaign last year. Today, Ajit Pawar says that, as finance minister, he must weigh the state’s fiscal health against the scheme, which is costing the treasury ₹46,000 crore a year.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. (ANI Photo) (Ajit Pawar-X)

His remark referenced the massive financial burden on the treasury by the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (MMLBY), among a series of allocations for populist schemes made by the previous Mahayuti alliance government in the run-up to the elections late last year.

Pawar, who is also deputy chief minister, said the government is planning to drop beneficiaries who are availing schemes even though they don’t meet eligibility criteria. This was a pointed reference to the Ladki Bahin Yojana, the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for economically vulnerable women believed to have played an important part in the Mahayuti alliance’ victory in the assembly elections.

Pawar, who was speaking at the two-day conclave of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Shirdi on Sunday, said that maintaining fiscal balance as determined by the central government was his responsibility as finance minister of the state.

His statement comes two days after the state government set up a seven-member committee to evaluate and make recommendations for streamlining ongoing schemes—this includes repetition of schemes and beneficiaries, schemes that are outdated and no longer needed, and schemes that can be merged. The committee has also been asked to recommend ways to increase financial resources. The panel was set up as the state government is looking for ways to cut its spending on ongoing schemes to reduce the burden on the cash-strapped treasury.

“I am trying to make you aware that the centre has determined a limit for taking loans. It is based on our GDP, our income through GST and other resources, among other things. We will continue the Ladki Bahin Yojana but the scheme should benefit only those who are in need. In our case, those who are financially capable, or pay income tax, or have a job have also signed up, for which we are thinking to do something different,” Pawar said on Sunday.

He also said the government would also be taking a decision on schemes that are outdated. “However, a decision is yet to be taken by all the three parties.”

Pruning the list of beneficiaries under the Ladki Bahin Yojana would mean removing ineligible beneficiaries. Apart from those paying income tax, which would render them ineligible, the government will also weed out women who are beneficiaries of other schemes, such as the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana (a pension scheme for destitute women), under which over 2.5 million women get ₹1,500 a month.