Pune: The state will recheck 1% of all Ladki Bahin applications after the new govt is formed. A senior official of the woman and child development (WCD) department told TOI on Wednesday that with 2.5 crore beneficiaries, there are plans for an exhaustive random audit of applications to weed out discrepancies, if any. “We will start with checking 1% of all applications at random, to be followed by stage-wise sample checks.”
With the govt expected to announce the revised monthly amount from the existing Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 soon, the audit will likely be completed before the Dec rollout.
Officials said the scrutiny was essential, and departments of finance and WCD have proposed examination of all applications thoroughly. The applications were cleared from July and five instalments have been disbursed. The sixth instalment for Dec is expected to be credited after the first cabinet meeting.
The state govt has allocated Rs 36,000 crore for the scheme and will have to release additional money for the increased amount through a special supplementary budget.
Finance department officials said the checks will be done at the district level to address concerns of potentially fraudulent claims and misappropriation of funds. “It will ensure that taxpayers’ money reaches only the genuine beneficiaries,” an official said.
A multi-layered verification system will carry out the process. At its core, the eligibility criteria mandate a maximum annual family income of Rs 2.5 lakh, with a 5-acre cap on land ownership. Income tax certificates, retirement pension details and vehicle ownership records will be examined. The scheme limits benefits to two women per family and allegations of multiple claims within households will have to be addressed.
Field officers will conduct door-to-door surveys. Specialised teams will cross-refer beneficiary data with various govt data—including voters lists and Aadhaar-linked records. The process will involve multiple govt agencies working in tandem. Local authorities, including district- and block-level officers, will spearhead the ground-level verification. State-level teams from the social welfare department will oversee the broader audit process. Additionally, specialised audit teams will examine financial transactions and beneficiary lists.
Officials estimate the process could take several weeks, potentially affecting the regular payment schedule.
Meanwhile, govt officials assured that legitimate beneficiaries should not worry, since the primary objective is to strengthen the scheme’s implementation and not curtail its benefits. The checks are only to double check details.
