Mumbai, Feb 6 (NationPress) The Maharashtra government has revoked its prior decision to conduct physical verification of ineligible beneficiaries under its prominent Ladki Bahin Yojana, which was to be executed by Anganwadi workers. Instead, the deadline for finalizing and amending e-KYC information on the online portal has been extended to March 31.

This decision was made by the state’s Women and Child Welfare Department after receiving numerous complaints from beneficiaries who encountered challenges during the e-KYC process.

Women and Child Welfare Minister Aditi Tatkare stated, “We have received complaints about difficulties in accessing scheme benefits because some beneficiaries selected the wrong options during the e-KYC process. All eligible sisters who have completed their e-KYC, but are still awaiting benefits, now have another chance to amend their e-KYC information.”

She confirmed that the portal for correcting e-KYC details will remain accessible until March 31, 2026.

According to sources within the department, Anganwadi workers opposed the physical verification plan due to excessive workload and insufficient incentives for taking on this additional responsibility.

“There were complaints about the added burden on them, so we decided to prolong the e-KYC process until March 31. Beneficiaries who do not complete the process by this deadline will be subject to physical verification,” a department official mentioned.

The issue arose due to a poorly framed question in the e-KYC process, which led to over 24 lakh beneficiaries being inaccurately categorized as state government employees, resulting in the suspension of their monthly aid of Rs 1,500.

In response to this error, the Women and Child Welfare Department had previously instructed nearly one lakh Anganwadi workers statewide to verify the affected beneficiaries in person.

The problematic question in Marathi was: “Tumchya gharatle koni sarkari nokrit nahi na?” (Nobody in your family works for the government, right?)

Beneficiaries who should have replied “no” mistakenly answered “yes” due to confusion stemming from the question's wording.

The state government allocates approximately Rs 3,700 crore monthly to this scheme, which serves around 2.25 crore beneficiaries, with each eligible woman entitled to Rs 1,500 each month.

The e-KYC initiative was launched following complaints that male family members were receiving benefits or that government employees had been incorrectly registered as beneficiaries.

Introduced prior to the 2024 state Assembly elections, the Ladki Bahin Yojana aims to provide ongoing financial support to qualifying women.