Maha govt scraps ‘Free Saree’ scheme for Antyodaya families
Mumbai, July 16 (IANS) Close on the heels of the recent deletion of 92 lakh women’s names from the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the Maharashtra government has dealt another blow to women beneficiaries.
The ambitious ‘Captive Market Scheme’, introduced in 2023 by then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ahead of the assembly elections to distribute one free saree annually to Antyodaya ration card‑holding families, has been permanently shut down due to severe financial constraints.
The Department of Textiles officially issued a Government Resolution (GR) to this effect on Thursday.
The scheme was originally announced in June 2023 under the state’s Integrated and Sustainable Textile Policy 2023–28.
Under this initiative, the textile department distributed powerloom‑woven sarees annually to economically disadvantaged families holding Antyodaya ration cards.
The project was designed with a dual objective to provide a major boost to the struggling powerloom sector and to offer clothing assistance to underprivileged families.
Explaining the rationale behind the sudden closure, the official government order noted that the department is currently implementing several welfare schemes.
“Taking into overall consideration the financial assistance provided to various sectors, the projected financial burden of proposed schemes, and the government’s other fiscal liabilities, it would not be viable to continue this scheme into the next financial year,” the GR stated, explicitly citing the rising financial burden as the primary trigger for the rollback.
According to senior officials from the textile department, the scheme used to cater to nearly 25 lakh Antyodaya ration cardholders across the state, with the sarees traditionally distributed during Diwali.
The government had earmarked Rs 100 crore every year for the procurement of 25 lakh sarees. The scheme ran successfully for three consecutive years, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
With the scheme now officially terminated, officials have confirmed that there will be no saree distribution during this year’s Diwali festival.
The Maharashtra government’s move comes days after it, amid financial strain, tabled supplementary demands worth Rs 97,706.40 crore in the Legislative Assembly on the first day of the monsoon session on June 22. The size of the demands comes against the backdrop of a strained fiscal situation.
In the Budget for 2026‑27 presented in March, the government projected a revenue deficit of Rs 40,552 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs 1,50,491 crore.
Maharashtra’s outstanding debt is estimated to rise to Rs 11.02 lakh crore in 2026‑27, up from Rs 9.73 lakh crore in the revised estimates for 2025‑26.
–IANS
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