Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday said he will check about the arms licences issued in Pune district over the past few years and whether the recipients actually need them.Recent reports have claimed 659 arm licences were issued in Pune between 2021 and 2023.

"I will take information on this from the Pune police department. The police has the right to issue licences and also cancel them. It will be checked if the people holding these licences actually need them," he told reporters.

Speaking about the state government's flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which women are given Rs 1500 as monthly aid subject to certain conditions, Pawar admitted there was not much time to carry out detailed inspection when the scheme was launched.

"When this scheme was introduced, we didn’t have much time. Elections came up immediately, so there wasn’t enough time to conduct inspections. We had already appealed that only those truly eligible must apply," he said.

While admitting "mistakes" in the enrolment of some beneficiaries, Pawar reiterated that money disbursed would not be taken back.

Incidentally, the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation is set to recover Rs 3.58 crore from 2652 women government employees who availed benefits under the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme despite being ineligible.

Ahead of the November 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls, the Mahayuti government in the state launched the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana in August last year, under which eligible women in the age group of 21-65 years are entitled to a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500. Government employees are, however, not eligible for the scheme.

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