Anganwadi workers boycott Ladki Bahin physical verification work; 69L Ladki beneficiaries with errors in eKYC details stare at uncertainty

Kolhapur: At least 69 lakh Ladki Bahin beneficiaries with errors in their eKYC details risk losing their monthly installment of Rs 1,500 with anganwadi sevikas (workers) and madatnis (helpers) across the state boycotting the physical verification under the state scheme citing excessive workload.Maharashtra has 1.25 lakh anganwadi workers and nearly one lakh helpers. Some of these workers are also deployed as booth level officers during elections.Rajesh Singh, state secretary of the Maharashtra Rajya Anganwadi Sevika Sangh, one of the unions involved in the boycott, told TOI that the workers had two main demands. "Govt must fix a service fee for physical verification since eKYC will be an annual process. Besides, it must provide protection from political pressure as local leaders often try to get names added to the eligibility list, creating potential risk for workers," he said.Govt had set Dec 31, 2025, as the deadline for completing the online eKYC under the scheme, refusing to extend it. Many beneficiaries reportedly selected the wrong option during the process, resulting in failed verification and a missed Dec instalment, prompting women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare to direct anganwadi workers to complete the physical verification in such cases.On Jan 30, the action committee representing seven anganwadi unions wrote to CM Devendra Fadnavis and Tatkare, stating that anganwadi workers already had a defined set of duties mandated by central and state govts — ranging from teaching and preparing meals to health surveys and nutritional monitoring. "As these tasks already number around a dozen, workers will not take on additional "non-scheme" responsibilities like Ladki Bahin verifications," a union member said.Minister Tatkare was unavailable for comment till going to press. Kolhapur ZP district programme officer Sujit Ingawale confirmed to TOI that workers in some areas had halted the verification drive, involving verifying whether applicants met the eligibility criteria, including income limits and employment status.Of the 2.43 crore enrolled Ladki Bahin beneficiaries, 1.74 crore have completed online eKYC so far. While some might be ineligible, officials believed a large portion were genuine beneficiaries. Govt originally planned to release the Dec 2025 and Jan 2026 instalments together, but the State Election Commission objected in view of municipal elections, permitting disbursal of only the Dec dole. Those who became eligible after Dec 31, 2025, will receive their Jan and Feb instalments together. The annual outlay for the scheme is about Rs 45,000 crore.Anganwadi workers' leader Jayashri Patil said the agitation began with workers tying black ribbons at workplaces and has now escalated to a full boycott.Kailas Pagare, state commissioner of the Integrated Child Development Scheme, has written to the unions urging them to resume the verification work and assured them that a meeting with govt representatives would be convened soon.