Pune: RTI activist Vihar Durve has urged the state to immediately recover nearly Rs24 crore allegedly paid to 12,757 male beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana as Maharashtra govt needed funds for drought relief measures.Durve, in a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, women and child development minister, chief secretary and the department’s principal secretary, said the amount was paid between July 2024 and July 2025 despite the beneficiaries being ineligible for the scheme. “When funds are required, the govt must take this step immediately,” he told TOI.“The state is facing a severe drought and needs substantial funds for relief measures. Every rupee wrongly paid from the public exchequer should be recovered,” Durve said in his representation.Women and child development department’s reply on April 23, 2026, to an RTI query stated that 12,757 men had received the monthly Rs1,500 benefit, amounting to about Rs24 crore during the period. A subsequent reply on July 8 stated that the responsibility for recovering the money paid to ineligible male and female beneficiaries had been entrusted to the respective district collectors.Durve questioned if merely identifying ineligible beneficiaries and stopping further payments could constitute recovery of money paid from the public exchequer. He urged govt to establish a time-bound mechanism to recover the amount, particularly when the state was facing financial demands arising from drought relief.He also referred to CAG’s concerns regarding the financial management of the scheme and urged govt to take concrete steps to recover the money instead of merely discontinuing future payments to ineligible beneficiaries. He sought appointment of a senior state-level nodal officer exclusively responsible for monitoring the recovery, along with district-wise identification of recoverable amounts and a definite deadline for completing the recovery.Durve proposed a standard operating procedure (SOP) specifying the legal provisions and revenue-recovery mechanism to be used uniformly across the state. He sought monthly recovery reports from the nodal officer to the chief secretary and the chief minister, with details of recovery made public on govt website. The activist also urged govt to fix the responsibility for the failures that resulted in payment to ineligible beneficiaries and ensure that recovery efforts did not affect the eligible women receiving the scheme’s benefits.Drought, funds crises concern contractors’ associationMaharashtra State Engineers’ Association president Milind Bhosale said the state’s worsening financial position and the drought crisis left contractors, developers and businesses struggling.Bhosale said govt should review its expenditure priorities during the crisis, particularly the continuation of free-distribution schemes, and examine if funds could instead be used for development works and clearing contractors’ dues. A mail has been sent to chief minister’s office on this issue.Bhosale said contractors were facing difficulties because of delayed payments and a shortage of funds for ongoing works. Govt’s inability to take up new projects was adding to the pressure on the sector.He urged govt to take a hard look at its finances for the coming year and ensure that available resources were directed towards essential development and drought-related requirements. Bhosale said the economic impact would extend beyond contractors and developers if the funding crunch continued, as stalled works could affect employment and business activity across sectors.He urged govt to take a hard look at its finances for the coming year and ensure that available resources were directed towards essential development and drought-related requirements. Bhosale said the economic impact would extend beyond contractors and developers if the funding crunch continued, as stalled works could affect employment and business activity across sectors.
