Maharashtra’s Social Justice Minister and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat accused the Finance Ministry headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday, of “illegally” diverting funds from the Tribal Development Department and the Social Justice Department, headed by Shirsat, meant for the welfare of tribals, scheduled castes and Neo-Buddhist communities, to finance the Chief Minister’s Laadki Bahin Yojana, without his knowledge.

“They had diverted Rs 7,000 crore from my (social justice) department earlier (during the budget) by keeping me in the dark. If the government doesn’t want the social justice department to function or they don’t want to spend any money on social justice, then they should simply shut down this department. Call it an injustice or whatever. I don’t know the reason behind it (fund diversion),” Shirsat told media persons at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Saturday.

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Shirsat said that he is angry about the diversion of Rs 413.30 crore from the allocation to the social justice department, which he heads. Shirsat said that he would raise the issue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

“Such diversion of funds is not legal. This high-handedness of the finance department (headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar) is wrong. I oppose it,” Shirsat told media persons.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve criticised the diversion of Rs 414.30 crore out of Rs 3,960 crore sanctioned to the social justice department, headed by Shirsat.

Danve also claimed that another Rs 335.70 crore was diverted from the Tribal Development Department to pay the monthly stipend of the flagship Laadki Bahin scheme for women.

“Funds allotted to one department cannot be diverted in such a manner. The government has diverted the tribals’ share of money to pay the salary of the beloved sister (Laadki Bahin)! The government treasury is drying up. Out of the Rs 3,960 crore approved for the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, Rs 410 crore 30 lakh has been diverted. Also, out of the Rs 3,420 crore grant given to the Tribal Development Department, Rs 335 crore 70 lakh was diverted for the Chief Minister’s Laadki Bahin scheme. In this way, the government has diverted a total of Rs 746 crore of the Tribal Department’s share. According to the rules of the Planning Commission, the funds given to Tribal Department and Social Justice Department are determined in proportion to the population of such communities. These funds are meant to be mandatorily spent only by those departments and cannot be diverted to other departments,” Danve stated, mentioning the rules.

Earlier, a government resolution (GR) issued on Friday revealed that the cash-strapped BJP-led Mahayuti government diverted a budgetary allocation of Rs 746 crore meant for the welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to the Chief Minister’s Majhi Ladki 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.

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

The scheme was credited as 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 in order to win the assembly elections.