The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government is in a mood to throw caution to the wind ahead of State election. The Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the grandiose scheme, designed to uplift underprivileged women, carries a staggering price tag of ₹46,000 crore annually has already drawn over one crore eager registrations and now the State government has announced to provide free gas cylinders to women participating in this scheme

The State officials said that the finance department has sounded the alarm, warning of impending fiscal disaster. Maharashtra’s debt has skyrocketed to a mind-boggling ₹7,11,278 crore, with interest dues alone a crushing ₹48,578 crore. The State’s financial foundations are shaky, with open market borrowings, reserve deposits and loans from the Centre making up a hefty 75.4 per cent of this colossal debt.

The timing of this largesse is anything but coincidental. With Assembly elections looming, the Shinde government — a alliance of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP — is desperate to claw back support after a bruising defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. The “women empowerment” model is based on Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana, a masterstroke that kept the BJP in power there. The Maharashtra variant promises a lifeline of ₹1,500 per month to poor women, a move aimed at winning hearts and votes in one fell swoop.

State finance  

In the State Budget, the government had already promised three free gas cylinders to 52 lakh households. Now, in a sweeping expansion, this scheme will envelop beneficiaries of the Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, catapulting the number of recipients to 1.5 crore and the annual cost from ₹860 crore to an eye-watering ₹3,200 crore.

Yet, the financial stakes could not be higher. The fiscal deficit to GSDP ratio teeters at 2.8 per cent, the revenue deficit to GSDP at 0.5 per cent and debt stock to GSDP at a daunting 17.6 per cent for 2023-24 (RE). The total anticipated expenditure for all annual schemes in 2023-24 stands at a colossal ₹2,31,651 crore, with ₹20,188 crore earmarked for district annual schemes.

“We have made provision in the Budget. The decision we have taken for women and other beneficiaries will help to empower them,” says CM Eknath Shinde. He added that the scheme will not have impact on the State finance.