Struggling with a financial crunch, the Mahayuti government has tapped into welfare funds meant for backward and tribal communities to keep its flagship “Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin” scheme afloat.
About The Decision
A total of ₹746 crore—₹410.30 crore from the Social Justice Department and ₹335.70 crore from the Tribal Development Department has been diverted to the Women and Child Development Department to ensure continued payouts to women beneficiaries.
Although the two departments didn’t openly oppose the move, they did ask the Women and Child Development Department to share the list of beneficiaries before releasing the funds.
Launched last year just ahead of the Assembly elections, the “Majhi Ladki Bahin” scheme offers ₹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 “Majhi 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.
Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat's Statement
“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.”
