Maha drops physical verification for Ladki Bahin Yojana, extends e-KYC deadline to March 31

Mumbai, Feb 6 (IANS) The Maharashtra government on Friday cancelled its earlier decision to carry out physical verification of ineligible beneficiaries under its flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana through Anganwadi workers and instead extended the deadline for completing and correcting e-KYC details on the online portal till March 31. 

The decision was taken by the state Women and Child Welfare Department after several complaints were received from beneficiaries facing difficulties during the e-KYC process.

“Complaints have been received regarding difficulties in accessing scheme benefits due to some beneficiaries selecting incorrect options during the e-KYC process. Specifically, all eligible sisters who have completed e-KYC but are yet to receive the benefits are being given another opportunity to correct their e-KYC information,” said Women and Child Welfare Minister Aditi Tatkare.

She added that the facility to correct e-KYC details through the online portal will now remain open until March 31, 2026.

According to departmental sources, Anganwadi workers had opposed the plan for physical verification, citing excessive workload and lack of incentives for the additional task.

“There were complaints that they were being burdened with additional work. So we decided to extend the e-KYC process till March 31. Those who cannot complete the process by that date will undergo physical verification,” a department official said.

The issue arose after a wrongly framed question in the e-KYC process led to more than 24 lakh beneficiaries being incorrectly classified as state government employees, resulting in the suspension of their monthly assistance of Rs 1,500.

Following the error, the Women and Child Welfare Department had earlier ordered nearly one lakh Anganwadi workers across the state to physically verify the affected beneficiaries.

The problematic question in Marathi read: “Tumchya gharatle koni sarkari nokrit nahi na?” (Nobody in your family works for the government, right?)

Beneficiaries who should have responded “no” are said to have marked “yes” due to confusion caused by the framing of the question.

The state government spends around Rs 3,700 crore every month on the scheme, which covers nearly 2.25 crore beneficiaries, with each eligible woman receiving Rs 1,500 per month.

The e-KYC exercise was initiated following complaints that male members were receiving benefits under the scheme or that government employees had been wrongly registered as beneficiaries.

Launched ahead of the 2024 state Assembly elections, the Ladki Bahin Yojana provides monthly financial assistance to eligible women.

--IANS

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