Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday that the Mahayuti government will fulfill its promise of hiking the monthly allowance under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana from ₹1,500 to ₹2,100 per month.
He also gave an update on when the monthly allowance will be increased. While speaking at his first press conference after being sworn in as the Maharashtra CM, Fadnavis said that the Ladki Bahin Yojana hike would be considered in the upcoming budget session of Mahayuti 2.0.
Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday amid much fanfare at Mumbai's Azad Maidan.
"The most important thing is that we are going to continue the Ladki Bahin Yojana. We are also going to increase the benefit to women to ₹2,100. Now, we will consider it at the time of the budget. Ultimately, we will be able to do that only after our finances are properly channelled," said Fadnavis.
He added that applications for the Ladki Bahin scheme will be scrutinised this time around before disbursing the amount. Fadnavis also said that the scheme could be reconsidered if some women outside the Ladki Bahin Yojana criteria are getting the benefits.
He, however, clarified that there is no plan to reconsider the cash transfer scheme altogether.
Senior BJP leader and outgoing minister Sudhir Mungantiwar also previously said that the state government is likely to increase the amount of monthly instalments under the scheme but did not specify the time frame.
Mungantiwar said that any decision in this regard would be taken in the cabinet meeting of the new government.
"The decision to increase the amount to ₹2,100 per month would be taken in cabinet meeting of the new government. It is the cabinet's prerogative to decide how and when to increase the amount," said Mungantiwar.
The Ladki Bahin Yojana is a cash transfer scheme targeted at women aged between 21 to 65 from families having an annual income of less than ₹2.5 lakh. Under this scheme, the Mahayuti government has successfully disbursed instalments worth ₹7,500 each to around 2.4 crore beneficiaries.