February 7, Mumbai The Maharashtra government has reaffirmed that beneficiary verification would continue and will not stop the flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana’s execution.

Nearly five lakh beneficiaries’ names have been removed in a month due to ineligibility based on age, car ownership, and excess income, according to Industry and Marathi Language Minister Uday Samant.

But he asserted that the plan would not be abandoned.

“Women who are 65 years of age or who own a four-wheeler are not eligible for this scheme,” Sawant said. Additionally, the number of beneficiaries has decreased as a result of the unintentional exclusion of the women covered by this plan. The Ladki Bahin Yojana is not going to be stopped.

Women who earn Rs 2.50 lakh a year for their families are also not eligible.

Samant made his remarks the day after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the Mukyamantri Majha Ladka Bhau Yojana (dear brother) and MukhyaMantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (beloved sister) will continue at the Shiv Sena rally in Nanded.

About 2.46 crore eligible women received monthly help of Rs 1,500 from July to January under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, which was introduced last year ahead of the Assembly elections. In contrast, the government provides Rs 6,000 to Class 12 graduates, Rs 8,000 to ITI and certificate holders, and Rs 12,000 to graduate students under the Ladka Bhau Yojana.

Aditi Tatkare, the minister of women and child development, recently said that the state government has chosen to address allegations about fraudulent Ladki Bahin Yojana participants and had requested information from the Transport and Income Tax departments for their confirmation.

The government would only handle complaints about the fraudulent beneficiaries, she said. She said that reports about possible fraudulent scheme recipients served as the impetus for starting the verification procedure. About 4,500 women have sought to withdraw from the program as a result of these worries, she said.

Opposition parties, however, have accused the administration of discontinuing the Ladki Bahin Yojana and criticized it for the ongoing verification process.