Plea in M.P. High Court seeks closure of Ladli Behna scheme over its financial cost; notice issued to government

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Hearing the petition, filed by a former Congress councillor from Gwalior, Sudha Dubey, a Division Bench of Justices G.S. Ahluwalia and Anuradha Shukla in Gwalior on September 16 issued notices to the State authorities. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

A petition has been filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking closure of the Ladli Behna Scheme, under which eligible women receive a monthly allowance of ₹1,500 from the State Government, while questioning its financial liability on the exchequer and accusing it to be an election-related freebie. 

Hearing the petition, filed by a former Congress councillor from Gwalior, Sudha Dubey, a Division Bench of Justices G.S. Ahluwalia and Anuradha Shukla in Gwalior on September 16 issued notices to the State authorities, including the Women and Child Development Department and the Finance Department, and sought their responses. 

Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana, a flagship scheme of the State’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, was launched by former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in March, 2023, with the amount of ₹1,000 per month. In October that year, the amount was increased to ₹1,250 per month, a month before the Assembly polls. The BJP had also promised, in its poll manifesto, to increase the amount to ₹3,000 per month. 

The scheme, which benefited about 1.31 crore women in 2023, is credited with helping the BJP counter the anti-incumbency in the Assembly elections and return to power with a massive majority. The scheme has seen one hike since the elections, with Mr. Chouhan’s successor Mohan Yadav taking it to ₹1,500 from November, 2025. 

The budgetary allocation for the scheme for FY2026-27 was ₹23,882 crore. 

The petition says that the scheme, in its current form and scale, is costing more than ₹22,000 crore/year, while demanding that the government shares details of the financial liability of the scheme.

The petition says that “a very large amount of public money is being distributed every month, without sufficient material showing that such recurring cash assistance is actually creating lasting economic empowerment, self-reliance, employment, skills or permanent income opportunities for women”.

It asks if any independent and comprehensive assessment has been conducted that shows that the scheme has provided women with lasting financial independence. 

The petition also raises questions at the State’s financial health saying that the government is “raising funds through market borrowings and State development loans and has continuing debt and interest liabilities”.

The petition sought directions for the government to share details of the State’s borrowings, outstanding debt and interest liability in numbers, and the likely financial effect of continuing the scheme in future years, while demanding a stay on the disbursement of money until then. 

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Dubey termed the scheme an “election freebie rather than a welfare scheme”.

“₹1,500 is not enough to run a household, and there is no study to show that it is helping women create long-term financial opportunities. Instead, the government should focus on skill development and provide employment opportunities for them,” she said, adding that the government has been given four weeks to file its response. 

“I am associated with the Congress but have filed this petition in my independent capacity,” she added.

Advocate Anil Kumar Mishra, who is representing Ms. Dubey, said that the matter of Ladli Behna scheme is “no longer just political but concerns the prudent use of public money”.

“The question is: Is the state’s treasury meant only for such announcements and ever-increasing direct cash transfers, or should public money also be used for education, health, employment, roads, irrigation, electricity, and sustainable development? If the objective of a scheme is genuine women’s empowerment, it should be welcomed, but if funds from the government treasury are being used to attract voters for electoral gains, it raises serious questions for both the democratic system and taxpayers’ money,” he said on X. 

The government has also faced criticism over a halt in fresh registrations since the 2023 elections, with the beneficiary numbers having dropped to about 1.25 crore, as per the 40th instalment disbursed earlier this month when Mr. Yadav transferred ₹1,835 crore to beneficiaries’ bank accounts. 

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