12,431 men got benefits under government’s flagship scheme for women in Maharashtra: Report
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has reportedly found that at least 12,431 men received benefits under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, a scheme intended exclusively for women aged 21 to 65 from families with an annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh, which provides Rs 1,500 per month.
According to data obtained by The Indian Express through a Right to Information (RTI) request, 12,431 men and 77,980 women were wrongly disbursed Rs 1,500 for 13 months and 12 months, respectively, under the scheme. The erroneous payments amount to approximately Rs 24.24 crore for men, Rs 140.28 crore for women, and at least Rs 164.52 crore in total.
In its response to RTI queries from the newspaper, the Women and Child Development (WCD) department, which runs the scheme, stated that all 12,431 men and 77,980 women identified as ineligible have been removed from the list of beneficiaries following a verification process.
In a separate RTI response, the WCD department revealed that at least 2,400 government employees, including men, had availed undue benefits under the scheme, and disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against them. However, the department also confirmed that no action or recovery process has been initiated so far in any of the cases involving wrongful disbursement, the report added.
When asked about the RTI data, a state government official described the irregularity as the “tip of the iceberg”. “We are yet to calculate the total amount paid to these ineligible accounts. These figures may rise as verification continues,” TIE quoted the official as saying.
The official also mentioned that disbursement of funds to 26.34 lakh suspect accounts was suspended in June-July 2025 pending verification.
Officials further pointed out that the “irregularities” were uncovered during a verification exercise, which primarily found that the misuse of the scheme was due to the submission of incorrect data and misrepresentation of income and asset details by the beneficiaries.
“Some beneficiaries were availing multiple government schemes at the same time. In several households, more than two members were receiving benefits. Thousands of government staffers were found taking benefits despite being ineligible. Some had annual incomes exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh,” TIE quoted an official as saying.
The official added that, to prevent further misuse of the scheme, a statewide e-KYC verification drive has been launched for all existing and new beneficiaries, and the process is expected to be completed soon.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
