Pune Women Demand Portal Reopening for Ladki Bahin Scheme Corrections
In Pune, beneficiaries of the state government's Ladki Bahin scheme have expressed dissatisfaction with the newly announced helpline, insisting that their primary concern remains unaddressed. The women are calling for the reopening of the e-KYC portal to allow direct corrections in their applications, rather than relying on the helpline or intermediaries.
Helpline Announcement and Immediate Backlash
Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare took to social media platform X on Friday night to announce a dedicated helpline number, 181, for immediate assistance with e-KYC errors, delayed payments, and other scheme-related queries. However, the response from beneficiaries in Pune has been overwhelmingly critical.
Many women reported that the helpline was either non-operational or ineffective when they attempted to use it on Saturday. A beneficiary from Pune stated, "Despite trying several times, the helpline number announced yesterday was not answered. This is not going to be the solution. The portal should be reopened so that we can re-submit or correct our applications."
Operational Challenges and Beneficiary Frustrations
Lata K, a woman from rural Pune, highlighted the practical difficulties faced by beneficiaries. "We tried calling 10 to 12 times. It is the National Women Helpline, and it showed continuously busy. This helpline will not help. There should be dedicated officials in every district to address our concerns," she explained.
The e-KYC portal for the Ladki Bahin scheme closed for updates on December 31, after which women were directed to approach anganwadi workers for any necessary corrections. This directive has further fueled discontent among beneficiaries.
A beneficiary from Thane emphasized, "We do not want to go through anganwadi workers to re-submit e-KYC. We should have the option to do it ourselves."
Government Response and Scheme Details
In her statement on X, Minister Tatkare acknowledged that the department had received complaints about benefits being suspended due to incorrect selections during the e-KYC process. She assured beneficiaries that call operators were trained and all complaints would be resolved through the helpline, urging them to avail of the service.
A senior official from the Women and Child Development Department revealed that a critical error in the Marathi e-KYC form led to significant issues. The question, "Tumchya gharatle koni sarkari nokrit nahi na?" used double negatives, confusing respondents. This resulted in over 24 lakh beneficiaries being wrongly classified as belonging to families of government employees, leading to the suspension of their monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500.
The error was identified during a data review, with officials noting that Maharashtra has only eight to nine lakh government employees, including those in semi-government bodies and corporations. In response, the government has deployed nearly one lakh anganwadi workers across the state to physically verify affected beneficiaries and correct records.
Scale of the Scheme and Ongoing Challenges
The e-KYC exercise under the Mukhyamantri - Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana covered approximately 2.3 crore beneficiaries, with the state disbursing nearly Rs 3,700 crore every month. Despite these efforts, the demand for portal reopening persists among Pune beneficiaries, who seek a more direct and efficient method to rectify errors without intermediary involvement.
The situation underscores the ongoing challenges in implementing large-scale welfare schemes and the importance of clear communication and accessible correction mechanisms for beneficiaries.
