Maharashtra Govt Seeks Income Tax Data To Verify Eligibility Of 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' Beneficiaries Amid Allegations Of Irregularities

Mumbai: The income tax department, Mumbai has received request from Maharashtra government for data on taxpayers who are beneficiaries of the flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana.

The state government has sought detailed information from the income tax department of women who have filed income tax returns to ascertain the eligibility of the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme amid allegations of several hundred mantralaya women employees availing benefits of the flagship scheme.

“We have forwarded the request to the Union Finance Ministry for approval to share the required tax payers data and ITR filed by the women in Maharashtra,” confirmed a senior tax official.

The BJP Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) Mahayuti had launched the ambitious Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme just before the 2024 assembly elections in which 2 crore 67 lakh women applied and an amount of Rs 7,500 was deposited in the account of every woman for about 5 months without any comprehensive verification before the elections.

After the elections, the Mahayuti ruling alliance led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to order review of the scheme to identify ineligible beneficiaries including women owners of four wheelers and government employees leading to disqualification of nine lakhs women from the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme.

According to the state finance ministry data, approximately Rs 3.58 crore were disbursed in last nine months 9 months with Rs 13,500 per person availed under the Ladki Bahin Yojana.

“data from the Income Tax Department would enable the state government to identify ineligible women for exclusion from the scheme and reducing the financial burden on the state ensuring transparency in the Ladki Bahin Yojana,” said a senior state bureaucrat reviewing the scheme.

He further added the delay in getting data from Income Tax department has hindered investigations into the irregularities and malpractices alleged in the scheme allowing lakhs of potentially ineligible women to continue receiving benefits unfairly.