A public interest litigation has been filed with the Bombay High Court to direct the state government to disburse the benefits of Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme to all the eligible women on the basis of Aadhar data and relieve the women from filling forms to avail the benefits. The PIL also requested the court to direct the government to accept the forms offline following technical issues with the online portal.
The state’s Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, which offers Rs. 1500 every month to women earning below Rs. 2.5 lakhs, has become an instant hit among women as it has attracted a lot of beneficiaries from across the state. However, after reports of technical issues faced with the online portal and Nari Shakti Doot application, the Premaya Welfare Foundation has filed a PIL with the Bombay High Court urging the court to direct the government to all eligible women as per the database of Aadhar.
The petition filed in the High Court on Thursday, states that the online portal and application have been facing issues since the start of July but from the last week of July, the application has stopped working. Premaya Welfare Foundation, which has been working to facilitate needy women to avail the benefits for the scheme, stated in the petition that they have been unable to upload almost 60 forms collected by them. The petitioner also claims that the E-Seva Kendras were also not able to upload the forms, which created anxiety and a sense of deprivation of the benefit among women.
According to the petition, a legal notice was issued to the Government of Maharashtra, Women and Child Department and the Chief Minister on August 14 to activate the application within 24 hours but after they failed to reply to the notice or activate the application, the petitioner filed the PIL.
he PIL prayed to the court to issue a writ against the government to implement the scheme to all eligible women as per the database of Aadhar Cards for the state of Maharashtra. It also requested the court to direct the government to accept the forms offline by designating officers at each municipal wards and gram pachayats until the final disposal of the PIL. It also requested the court to publish the list of applicants whose bank accounts are to be linked to Aadhar.
Advocate Sumedha Rao, director of Premaya Welfare Foundation, said, “As the deadline of August 31 to submit the forms is coming close and the application is not working, it is creating a sense of anxiety a month the beneficiaries who are not able to submit their forms. It is easy for the government to make a list of eligible women, holding yellow or orange ration card, in the age group of 21 to 65 earning less than Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. They should disburse the money directly without waiting for the women to fill a form and submit the application.”
