Impossible to pay women Rs 2,100 under Laadki Bahin Yojana: Maha minister Shirsat

Maharashtra’s Minister for Social Justice Minister and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat said here on Monday that given the prevalent fund crunch, it would not be possible to increase the monthly payment to women under the Laadki Bahin Yojana (my beloved sister scheme) from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100, promised in the election manifesto of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.

“The Maharashtra state’s budget is only Rs 2.5 lakh crore. The Social Justice Department (headed by Shirsat) ought to get Rs 39.5 crore. I have received Rs 22 thousand crore. I have received only Rs 15 thousand crore, out of which 7 thousand crore has gone to other schemes. I have written to the Chief Minister and I have also made a request to Ajit Pawar for additional funds,” Shirsat said.

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There are as many as 24.6 million registered beneficiaries under the Laadki Bahin scheme, which provides underprivileged women in Maharashtra a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500. The Maharashtra government allocates Rs 3,800 crore per month for trasfer to bank accounts of women every month, under the Laadki Bahin Yojana.

The scheme was credited for being one of the major reasons behind the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s landslide win during the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections. However, with an estimated revenue deficit of Rs 45,892 crore in FY 2025-26, the BJP-led Mahayuti government is now finding it difficult to make budgetary allocations for various populist vote-catching schemes it had announced as part of its election manifesto, in order to win the Maharashtra assembly elections.

“The Laadki Bahin Yojana is very important for us. It is because of this scheme that we are in power today. Therefore, that scheme should not be stopped. Funds must be found for it. It is the responsibility of the government to provide funds, but as per rules, it is not possible to divert funds meant for the Social Justice Department for other purposes. There is such a provision in the law. Therefore, I have told Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that it is wrong to use Social Justice Department funds elsewhere, due to which I will face difficulties in working,” Shirsat said.

“The beneficiaries of the Laadki Bahin Yojana cannot be categorised. It has a provision to provide benefits to all women. If we categorise them, it will be wrong. It will send out the wrong message. We do not wish to send any such wrong message. We are trying to provide money to all women under the Laadki Bahin scheme,” Shirsat said.

“The file for the transfer of funds from the Social Justice Department had come to me in February itself but I had rejected it. I had clearly written on the file that you cannot transfer this money. I had written and signed that I do not approve of this proposal and sent the file back. The Chief Minister has every right to do what he wants, but there are some schemes from which it is not appropriate to withdraw money. If we do this, it will be an injustice to the people for whom this department is being run,” Shirsat said.

“The Laadki Bahin Yojana is a burden on the government. I do not think Ajit Pawar has diverted Social Justice Department funds deliberately. Probably, the secretary who guides him could be briefing him the wrong way,” Shirsat said.

Earlier, a Maharashtra government resolution (GR) issued on Friday revealed that the cash-strapped BJP-led Mahayuti government had diverted Rs 746 crore originally allotted to the Ministry of Social Justice headed by Shirsat, meant for the welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), to the Chief Minister’s Majhi Laadki Bahin Yojana.

According to officials, the decision, which indicates the Maharashtra government’s poor fiscal condition, goes against guidelines issued by the Union Finance Commission.

“Planning Commission guidelines do not allow such diversions and the outlay has to be spent on SCs and STs only. Some states like Odisha, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have enacted laws making the allocation meant for SCs and STs non-transferable and non-lapsable. This means the entire allocation for these classes should be utilised in the financial year,” according to an official.

The official also stated that the Maharashtra government had plans to introduce a similar law, but it was opposed by a section of political leaders.