The Maharashtra government has funnelled a staggering ₹4,787 crores to 1.59 crore women through its Chief Minister’s flagship Mazi Ladki Bahin Yojana (My Beloved Sister Scheme).
Launched on the eve of the crucial State elections, this scheme, meant to woo the underprivileged women aged 21 to 65 with a ₹1,500 monthly financial aid, is now spiralling into a fiscal quagmire.
While a hefty ₹3,000 was disbursed in the first two months via direct benefit transfer (DBT), cracks are already beginning to show in the State’s financial foundation.
Behind the scenes, the State government is scrambling to keep this electoral lifeline afloat as the upcoming polls loom ever closer. The scheme, which targets 2.5 crore women, is draining the treasury dry. In a desperate bid to sustain it, an order surfaced this week that sparked outrage: the government suggested diverting relief funds earmarked for families of deceased farmers to the Mazi Ladki Bahin Yojana—a move that set off a firestorm among farmers and the opposition alike.
Stung by the uproar, the government quickly backpedalled.
“The assistance for farmer suicides has not been halted,” they clarified, assuring that enough money was allocated in this budget. They emphasized that “shortfall facility” provisions, typically used when funds run dry, weren’t necessary—yet. But the damage had been done, and the faint scent of panic still lingered.
Beneath the government’s assurances lies a grim reality. The Mazi Ladki Bahin Yojana carries an eye-watering annual price tag of ₹46,000 crores, and Maharashtra’s financial pulse is growing dangerously weak. With a towering debt of ₹7,11,278 crores and interest dues mounting to ₹48,578 crores, the State teeters on the edge of fiscal collapse.
Officials are quietly sounding alarms, warning of an impending disaster as the finance department grapples with the State’s sky-high borrowings and crumbling reserves. Open market loans and federal assistance make up a hefty 75.4 per cent of the debt, leaving the State in a perilous bind.
And if that wasn’t enough, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar recently dropped a bombshell of his own, publicly admitting that many undeserving women have slipped through the cracks to benefit from the scheme.
The government’s grip on ensuring that only the truly underprivileged women receive aid has faltered, casting further doubt on the sustainability—and integrity—of this high-stakes political gamble, say experts.