Ladki Bahin eKYC deadline ends with extension unlikely in Maharashtra

Kolhapur: The deadline for beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana to complete eKYC ended on Dec 31, and govt was unlikely to extend it, citing "no major complaints" were registered regarding the filing of eKYC.The first deadline to carry out eKYC, to link the Aadhaar number with the account using the One Time Password issued to the registered mobile number, ended on Nov 18. Around 1.5 crore women got the eKYC done through a special portal. However, there were heavy rain and floods in the state in Sept and Oct, and therefore, to facilitate women filing eKYC, the deadline was extended to Dec 31.At the start of the scheme, 2.5 crore women received the monthly instalment. Later, the number came down because of duplication, and women who did not fit the criteria were made ineligible. Some 25 lakh women were made ineligible.Now, with the deadline not likely to get extended, women who received the Rs 1,500 per month dole into their accounts will not receive it henceforth. TOI tried to reach women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare to find out what happens next, how many women did their eKYC, and how many women could not. The calls went unanswered, and the text message got no response.TOI reached a senior official from her department. He, requesting anonymity, said, "There is no decision yet on whether the eKYC deadline will be extended or not. The work to prepare the data of women beneficiaries who got their eKYC done is going on. So far, during the period of extension, we received no major complaints about women not being able to get their eKYC done."Some women complained that they were not able to carry out eKYC as the portal continued showing the message, "OTP Verification Failed". After trying repeatedly, the server went down. Now, such women are hoping for another extension. Widowed women, single women, divorcees etc, were asked to hand over documents such as the death certificate of their late husband to the anganwadi aevika, who will upload the document on the online portal and get the eKYC done.Meanwhile, Ladki Bahin beneficiaries who were eligible before Dec 31 received their dole for Nov, but they hoped to get the dole for Nov and Dec together at the start of the new year.