Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here on Thursday that no funds have been diverted from the Tribal Department to finance the Chief Minister’s Ladki Bahin Yojana, as alleged by the opposition as well as Tribal Development Department and the Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat.
It may be recalled that on May 3, Sanjay Shirsat of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had stated, “They had diverted funds 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 had told media persons at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Shirsat expressed anger over the alleged diversion of Rs 413.30 crore from the Social Justice Department’s allocation, which he heads, and said he would raise the issue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve too had criticised the alleged diversion of Rs 413.30 crore out of Rs 3,960 crore sanctioned to the social justice department, headed by the Tribal Development Department and the Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat.
Reacting to these statements, Fadnavis said, “The allegation that funds from other departments are being diverted for the Ladki Bahin Yojana is completely false. This is a very wrong claim. Only those who do not understand the budget process can make such allegations. The rule regarding the budget is that in our budget, funds should be reserved for tribals as per the number of tribal people, and for scheduled castes as per the number of scheduled castes. However, while reserving these funds, priority should be given to individual benefit schemes. That is, maximum funds should be reserved for individual benefit schemes”.
“The Ladki Bahin Yojana is a scheme for individual benefit. If funds are allotted for it, it will have to be shown in the tribal department as per budget rules. The same rule applies to the Scheduled Castes and Social Justice Departments. Funds will have to be shown in that department only. Accordingly, we have shown the funds in that department,” Fadnavis said.
The development came only a day after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “The Ladki Bahin Yojana launched during my tenure as Chief Minister, will never be discontinued. Those who once opposed this scheme were decisively rejected by our sisters in the elections. Out of frustration, they are now making baseless allegations. Our achievements during the past two and a half years, especially for farmers, youth, and women, have earned us the people’s trust. The contribution of our sisters is especially invaluable”.
Significantly, when the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme was originally launched, the cash benefit to women was Rs 1,500 per month. During the 2024 Maharashtra assembly poll campaign, the BJP-led Mahayuti assured that the amount would be increased to Rs 2,100 per month. However, after Maharashtra Budget 2025-26 was tabled, the amount was not increased to Rs 2,100 per month, as promised by the BJP-led Mahayuti, during its 2024 Maharashtra assembly election campaign.