The scheme was started in August 2024 before the Assembly elections. The beneficiaries got Rs 1,500 per month in their bank accounts. (File photo)Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said the government will recover money from those men who have taken advantage of the state’s flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana which was said to be largely instrumental in bringing the BJP-led Mahayuti back to power in Maharashtra. Over 14,000 men have been reportedly benefitted from the scheme.”The Ladki Bahin Yojana was implemented as financial assistance for poor women. It was brought with honest intention. It was not meant for men. And therefore, we are going to recover the money from them. If they do not co-operate, we will take action against them,” Pawar told reporters when asked about the media reports that 14,298 men have benefitted from the scheme.The scheme was started in August 2024 before the Assembly elections. The beneficiaries got Rs 1,500 per month in their bank accounts. As many as 14,298 men have apparently received benefits of over Rs 21 crore.Sports Minister Dattatraya Bharne, who in the past had admitted how the scheme had put additional financial burden on the state government, said, ”If men have got benefits from the scheme, the government will take appropriate action in the matter.”Another NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said, “If this has happened, then government will investigate.”Shashikant Shinde, NCP (S-P) state president, said, “We have been consistently saying that those who were not eligible were getting benefits of the Ladki Bahin Yojana. In the House too, we had been asking the government to recover the amount which was wrongly distributed. The scheme was wrongly implemented.”Baramati MP Supriya Sule said it has come to light that some men have taken advantage of the Ladki Bahin Yojana. ”The government hurriedly got lakhs of forms filled up by women before the Assembly elections,” she said, while demanding ED and CBI investigation against contractors who were tasked with getting forms filled up from women about the Ladki Bahin Yojana.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:pune