Mumbai, Nov. 23 -- Facing a mounting financial strain, the Maharashtra government has directed all its departments to remove or regularise encroachments on land owned by them across cities and to lease such plots to generate additional revenue. The decision was taken following chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's approval. The directive comes against the backdrop of a growing financial crunch triggered partly by the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, a welfare scheme that pays Rs.1,500 a month to underprivileged women across the state. "For removal or regularisation of encroachments on government land, [a] policy has already been issued by the revenue and forest department in the past. If any department does not have its own policy, the policy of the revenue and forest department shall apply," states a circular issued by the state urban development department on November 19. The circular instructs urban local bodies in small and medium-sized cities to study applicable policies and implement them in accordance with land ownership. They are expected to follow the urban development department's policy for land owned by them, respective departmental policies for department-owned land, or, in the absence of one, the revenue and forest department's policy. The move stems from the 100-day action plan for the urban development department, approved by the chief minister in January. "One of the points of the action plan was the removal or regularisation of encroachments on government lands in small and medium-sized cities and leasing out such land for planned development to increase revenue through development charges and property tax," said a senior department official. Following this directive, the department set up a committee that identified encroachments on lands owned by municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats. Encroachments were found on plots belonging to multiple departments, including revenue and forest, rural development, and urban development. The circular also directed government departments to ensure that the land parcels they owned would be available for projects. With an estimated revenue deficit of Rs.45,892 crore for the financial year 2025-26, the state is struggling to accommodate budgetary commitments for Majhi Ladki Bahin and several other populist schemes announced ahead of last year's assembly polls. The Ladki Bahin scheme alone requires around Rs.3,800 crore every month. It currently has 24.6 million registered beneficiaries and is widely considered one of the key factors behind the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance's landslide victory in the 2024 assembly elections....