Maharashtra discontinues 4 women and child welfare schemes, Lek Ladki Yojana applications move to MahaDBT

Maharashtra's Women and Child Development Department has discontinued four women and child welfare schemes and started the phased closure of three others, under a government order issued on October 16, 2026. The order follows recommendations of the State Governance Process Re-engineering (GPR) Approval Committee at its October 6 meeting.

Discontinued schemes cover multipurpose community centres for women, grants to Zilla Parishads for Mahila Mandals, support for Devadasi rehabilitation hostels in Kolhapur and Sangli, and solar power sets for anganwadi centres. Solar power sets for anganwadis are now replaced by help for electricity bills.

Majhi Kanya Bhagyashree, replaced by Lek Ladki Yojana in April 2023, will be closed after pending claims are settled by March 2027. Support for NGOs running Aadhar Gruha shelter homes, and money help for children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic, will be phased out by FY 2027-28. The department said only three shelter homes were running, and eligible pandemic-affected children are now covered under Savitribai Phule Child Care Scheme.

What changes for applicants

Applications for Lek Ladki Yojana, which supports families with an annual income of up to ₹1 lakh, will move to the MahaDBT portal. Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Bal Sangopan Yojana, which pays ₹2,250 to children needing alternative family care and ₹250 to NGOs, will also be integrated with MahaDBT. Nine scheme-related services will be removed from the Aaple Sarkar portal, and applications for Sakhi Nivas working women's hostels will eventually move to a Common Hostel Portal.

Orphan certificates stay a notified service under the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015, and will shift to a dedicated online portal once it is ready. The order also calls for automatic identity and bank account checking, use of DigiLocker and Poshan Tracker, and priority lines for emergency calls to the women's helpline 181.

The department said this is not an across-the-board withdrawal of welfare services. Benefits continue through Mission Shakti, Shakti Sadan, Sakhi One Stop Centres, Lek Ladki Yojana, Mission Vatsalya and Savitribai Phule Child Care Scheme.