MUMBAI: With an eye on the
state assembly polls
which are just three months away, the state government is considering introducing a
subsidy for women
along the lines of the
Laadli Behna scheme
in Madhya Pradesh, which proved to be a game-changer that helped the BJP led return to power in 2023.
The state’s scheme, which may be introduced in the budget session of the state assembly which begins later this week, aims to provide Rs 1500 per month to impoverished women in the state.
It is targeted at women between the age of 21 and 60 years.
The state budget which will be tabled in the assembly is expected to provide an array of sops for different sections of society since it is the last budget before the polls.
With the voter turnout of women rising, state governments and political parties have been wooing this vote-bank. According to the Election Commission of India, male voters had a marginally higher turnout (65.80%) than female voters (65.78%) in the Lok Sabha polls this year.
In 2023, the Shinde government had introduced the Lek Ladki scheme in the state budget. This was aimed at encouraging families with yellow and orange ration cards, to educate their daughters.
The Lek Ladki scheme provides Rs 98,000 for the girls to be released in different phases: Rs 5000 at birth, Rs 6000 when she is admitted to class 1, Rs 7,000 when she takes admission in class 6, Rs 8,000 when she is admitted to class 11 and Rs 75,000 when she turns 18.
The same budget of March 2023, also announced a 50% travel concession for women on state transport buses.
In March 2024, the Shinde government unveiled a women’s policy – the fourth in the state so far. If focused on eight objectives including health, education, ending gender-based violence and encouraging the political participation of women.
In 2021, the state assembly had passed the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment (Act). It became the second state in India after Andhra Pradesh to approve death penalty for rape and gangrape. In the 2021-22 state budget, the government had announced a 1% stamp duty concession for women if the property was registered in a woman’s name.
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