Maharashtra Expects To Find 7 Lakh Applicants Ineligible For Farm Loan Waiver

Maharashtra expects to find at least seven lakh or a tenth of farm loan waiver applicants ineligible after discrepancies in applications forced the government to re-verify beneficiaries, a senior official aware of the development told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity.

So far, of the 67 lakh cases, 49 lakh have been vetted and will get the waiver, the official said. The final figure is likely to be between 57 lakh and 60 lakh, he said.

“These (ineligible) people could have filled the forms themselves or could be on the list provided by the banks. It's very difficult to say,” Subhash Deshmukh, minister of co-operation and textiles, told BloombergQuint. “I assure that they will not get the loan waiver.” The minister refused to comment on the number of applicants that may be found ineligible.

The state decided to reverify the names after multiple applications quoting a single Aadhaar ID came to light. It's looking to eliminate applicants who earn income from sources other than agriculture and can repay their loans, the official quoted above said. Farmers are eligible for up to Rs 1.5 lakh to repay outstanding dues in the Rs 34,000 crore plan that originally aimed at pardoning debt of 89 lakh applicants—67 lakh actually applied. The number could come down to Rs 25,000-27,000 crore after the second round of revision, the official said.

The government has released Rs 23,000 crore for 49 lakh beneficiaries. As of Jan. 1, 28.4 lakh have received about Rs 12,000 crore, the official said.

Meanwhile, the deadline for those with outstanding loans of more than Rs 1.5 lakh to pay up the amount over and above the cap was extended by three months till March 31.

Also Read: Maharashtra Allocates For Rs 14,240 Crore For Loan Waiver Scheme