No legal action against ineligible Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin scheme beneficiaries, says Ajit Pawar

Pune: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar made it clear on Sunday that the govt would not pursue legal action against Ladki Bahin beneficiaries found ineligible.

Pawar was responding to questions in Pune about 2,200 ineligible govt employees who have received benefits under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, which was announced just ahead of the Nov 2024 assembly elections.

"When the scheme was launched, there wasn't enough time for a detailed verification process due to the upcoming elections. We appealed to people not to apply if they didn't meet the eligibility criteria, but some still went ahead and availed themselves of the benefits. We are not going to recover the money from them, but their names are now being removed from the list during the ongoing scrutiny," Pawar said. He confirmed that some govt employees were among the ineligible recipients.

"There will be no legal action against them," he added.

Under the scheme, eligible women in the age group of 21-65 are entitled to a monthly aid of Rs 1,500. The govt had made it clear that only those with an annual income of Rs 2.5 lakh or less could apply for the benefits, and govt employees would not be eligible. The total misuse of govt funds is estimated at around Rs 3.5 crore.

The deputy CM was in Pune to attend the International Agriculture Hackathon at the Agriculture College in Shivajinagar.

Responding to questions on heavy rainfall in parts of the state, Pawar said govt has instructed local administrations to conduct panchnamas to assess crop damage. He said govt has already arranged funds, and once the damage reports are submitted, appropriate steps would be taken.

On reports about increased firearm licences issued by Pune Police between 2021 and 2023, he said that all the applications would be reviewed.

"The police will be asked to verify the background of all individuals granted licences during this period. If no valid need is found, their licences will be revoked," he said.

The deputy CM added that he had received similar complaints from Beed earlier. At that time, the SP had reviewed all the licences, and cancelled some, he said, and added that the same thing can be done in Pune as well.

Unrest among Nagaland NCP MLAs

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar said on Sunday that a merger of all seven NCP MLAs in Nagaland with the governing Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) was triggered by growing unrest among them due to development projects in their constituencies getting stalled.

Pawar said the MLAs had met him in Mumbai two to three months ago to express their concerns. "I told them we could speak to Nagaland CM [Neiphiu Rio] and request him to ensure their issues are resolved, especially since NCP was supporting the ruling [NDPP-BJP] govt in the state. I also discussed the matter with Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who assured me that he would speak to the Nagaland CM," Pawar said.

He clarified that there was no violation of anti-defection law since all seven MLAs switched sides together. "I was unwell for the last two days, so I have not received detailed updates. But I will speak with the party's state president in Nagaland to review the situation," Pawar added.

After the 2023 Nagaland elections, NCP had emerged as the third-largest party with seven MLAs. NCP then backed the governing NDPP-BJP alliance, contributing to an opposition-less assembly.