Last date to apply for Ladki Bahin likely to be extended to Nov-end

Pune: Maharashtra govt is likely to accept applications from women for the Mukhyamantri Mazhi Ladki Bahin Yojana till Nov-end, state sources told TOI on Saturday.The last date to accept applications as set out earlier was Aug 31. Sources said CM Eknath Shinde is likely to announce the extension soon keeping in mind the upcoming assembly elections scheduled in Oct-Nov.On the condition of anonymity, a senior official said, “The state had made an initial budget allocation of Rs4,500 crore and disbursed around Rs3,000 crore for June and July to around 1 cr beneficiaries. Funds are not an issue, and we would get the remaining amount. It is expected that the CM will announce an extension to apply for the scheme for another three months till Nov-end.”Data said that as of Aug 31, around 2.26 crore applications were received from across the state. As many as 2.1 crore applications were accepted after scrutiny. Over 1 crore beneficiaries had already received Rs3,000 for two months. Many beneficiaries had to re-apply since they did not have required documents.The source further said they expected around 2.7 crore to 2.8 crore beneficiaries as the final figure even if the window for applications stood extended. The state had budgeted around Rs36,000 crore annually. Shinde had said they would not stop at Rs1,500 per month, but would increase the montly amount to Rs3,000 if they formed the govt again.The Ladki Bahin scheme provides monthly assistance of Rs1,500 to married, divorced and destitute women in the 21-65 years age group with a Rs2.5 lakh annual family income ceiling.“There is a high influx of applications over the last few days due to continuous programmes. All collectors and commissioners are working to clear the applications at the earliest,” a senior official from the women and child development department told TOI.Govt data said around 1.4 crore applications were received from beneficiaries through the mobile app, while around 85 lakh applications came through the portal. Applications that either lacked documents or were not linked with the Aadhaar bank account would be considered once it was re-registered after seeding with the bank account. “Work is on for seeding of bank accounts of many beneficiaries and special camps have been organised for the same,” said a senior official. Around 15.7 lakh applications were not cleared due to inadequate documents and prospective beneficiaries could apply again.Women beneficiaries said they had faced rejection due to lack of proper documents. “I have applied for my income certificate and am yet to get it. I will re-apply if the date is extended,” said citizen Haseena Banu.