Mumbai: Within hours of being sworn in as Maharashtra’s new Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis announced that his government would be undertaking a scrutiny of the popular Ladki Bahin Yojna.
Fadnavis said one of the first measures of his government will be to examine the list of the beneficiaries and to weed out those who are ineligible. “There are complaints about the beneficiaries not complying with the parameters and their scrutiny is necessary. It will not be completely scrapped. The scrutiny will be on the lines of the PM Kisan Yojana, where the ineligible beneficiaries had given up their benefit on their own,” he said.
He also said that the proposal to hike the pay out from Rs 1,500 per woman to Rs 2,100, as promised in their manifesto, will come into effect from the next financial year. At present, Maharashtra has over 24.3 million beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which a monthly cash benefit of Rs 1,500 is credited into the accounts of beneficiaries, and for which the State pays Rs 3,700 crore per month.
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Friday 17 Jan. 2025
Fadnavis’s predecessor and the newly sworn-in Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, said at a separate press briefing that he and others in the government had directed the bureaucracy to transfer the December instalment into the accounts of the beneficiaries immediately. “The scheme has played a key role in our election success and it will not be scrapped,” he insisted. The November instalment had been paid in October itself as the election code of conduct was implemented the following month.
At his first press briefing as CM Fadnavis also spoke about the possibility of a caste-based survey as has been demanded by the Congress party. He said his government was not against the idea per se. “We supported the caste-based survey in Bihar, and are not against it. But it should not be weaponized as it hampers the micro OBCs. There should be clarity on the intention of conducting a caste-based survey,” he added.
When asked whether his government will allow the Opposition to have a Leader in the Assembly as they do not have the requisite numbers which is 10% of the total seats, Fadnavis said that call would be taken by the Speaker. “In the Lok Sabha too, there was no Opposition leader for 10 years, but the largest opposition party extended the protocol and statutory powers it was due,” he pointed out.
Portfolios
Amid reports of tussle among the Mahayuti allies over allocation of portfolios, Fadnavis confirmed that the portfolio discussion is almost complete and will be announced before the Winter Session of the State Assembly that begins on December 16 in Nagpur.
“Portfolio distribution has been almost finalised and all the issues have been sorted. In a coalition government there is a process of consultation… Some issues need to be fine tuned. We have finalised the number of cabinet ministers for each party along with the portfolios they will get,” he said.
Fadnavis also said that the Mahayuti government will not go for political vendetta and that he “respects” the opposition, despite their numbers.
Stating that his government will not be a “20-20 match but a Test match” and all promises made in the manifesto will be fulfilled, Fadnavis said that the government will ensure that the state leads in infrastructure, agriculture and industrial development.
He further said that when he requested Ekanth Shinde to accept the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, the Shiv Sena chief immediately accepted it and “was not upset at all.”
