Mumbai: Cracks surfaced in the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra on Saturday with minister for social Justice Sanjay Shirsat, who is close to deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, angrily suggesting that his ministry be shut down since its funds are being diverted to other departments behind his back.
Vide a government resolution on Friday, the cash-strapped government, which is staring at a public debt of over Rs 8 lakh crores, had diverted Rs 413.30 cr from Shirsat's ministry to its flagship Ladki Bahin scheme. Other states have laws which bans the reallocation of funds reserved for SCs and STs, but not Maharashtra.
The main problem is that the Mahayuti won the assembly elections big time by piggy backing on the hugely successful Ladki Bahin scheme, which ironically was the brainchild of Shinde. But after winning the polls the ruling alliance found that it simply does not have the funds necessary to keep the scheme going. Hence it is moving funds from other departments lest the scheme come to a grinding halt. "The government is paying for its populism," a bureaucrat observed.
Social Justice Minister Sanjay shirsat
“I learned through the media that around ₹425 crore has been reallocated, I had no idea about this. If the Social Justice Department is not needed, then it might as well be shut down,” he said angrily. “I have absolutely no information about this, and I will discuss it with the Chief Minister.”
Maharashtra Social Justice Minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Saturday accused Ajit Pawar-led Finance Department of "high-handedness" over what he termed as the "illegal" diversion of funds from his department without his knowledge.
The minister said the state government should better shut down the Social Justice Department instead of periodic diversion of the allocated funds.
The angry outburst can potentially flare up the smouldering tensions between the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party headed by Ajit Pawar in the BJP-led Mahayuti government.
"They had diverted Rs 7,000 crore from my department earlier (during 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 money, then they should shut down this department. Call it an injustice or whatever. I don't know the reason behind it (fund diversion)," Shirsat told reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Shirsat was angry over the reported diversion of Rs 413.30 crore from the social justice department's allocation. The Shiv Sena MLA said he would raise the issue with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
"Such diversion of funds is not legal. This high-handedness of the finance department is wrong. Their action is wrong. I oppose it," he added. In a pointed attack on the Finance Department, Shirsat said there is a tolerance limit.
"Why don't they cut all funds once? Why do students need scholarships and hostels? What is the need to bring them (backward communities) into the mainstream? It will be alright if the social justice department doesn't exist," he said sarcastically.
Notably, Shirsat had alleged in March that the allocation to the Social Justice Department was slashed by Rs 7,000 crore in the Budget.
The latest diversion of funds was flagged by the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve. He claimed that Rs 414.30 crore of Rs 3,960 crore fund sanctioned for the social justice department was diverted by the state government.
Danve also claimed that the Rs 335.70 crore fund has been diverted from the Tribal Development Department to pay the monthly stipend of the flagship Ladki Bahin scheme for women. "Allotted funds cannot be diverted in such a manner," he stated on X.
Quick to gain political mileage, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve came down heavily on the government for depriving SCs and STs of funds for their welfare.
Launched last year just ahead of the assembly elections, the `` Ladki Bahin” scheme offers Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women. It quickly became hugely popular, and the government disbursed five months’ worth of payments to beneficiaries before the elections.
However, after returning to power, the Mahayuti government had to delay its promise of increasing the amount to ₹2,100 per month due to the state’s tight financial situation. Struggling to continue even the existing payments of ₹1,500, the government has now had to tap into funds originally allocated for welfare schemes targeting backward and tribal communities.
On Friday, the Women and Child Development Department issued an official government order confirming the reallocation. In the 2025-26 budget, the state had set aside ₹22,658 crore for Scheduled Caste schemes and ₹21,495 crore for Scheduled Tribe schemes.
Of this, the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department received ₹3,960 crore as a special grant, out of which ₹410.30 crore was diverted. Similarly, from the ₹3,420 crore allocated to the Tribal Development Department, ₹335.70 crore was redirected to the “Ladki Bahin” scheme. This reallocation will now happen every month.
Meanwhile, the April 2025 installment of the scheme is yet to reach the beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare had earlier announced that the payment would be made on Akshaya Tritiya.
However, due to lack of funds, the department missed the auspicious occasion. Now that funds from the Social Justice and Tribal Development departments have been received, it is expected that the April installment will be deposited soon. (with input from PTI)
