The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 36,585 crore farm loan waiver scheme which is expected to benefit nearly 56 lakh cultivators, fulfilling a major pre-poll promise made by the ruling Mahayuti alliance in 2024.
The scheme, 'Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana', provides farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh. The cabinet also introduced incentive benefits for cultivators who have repaid their loans on time.
The decision to approve the scheme was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here.
The scheme will cover more than 65 lakh accounts, and loans worth Rs 36,585 crore of nearly 56 lakh farmers are expected to be waived, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.
An official announcement about the debt relief package was not made in view of the Model Code of Conduct that is in force for the June 18 Legislative Council elections.
The cabinet also decided to provide an incentive of up to Rs 50,000 to farmers who have regularly repaid their crop loans.
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Farm loan waiver was one of the major promises made by the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP before the 2024 assembly polls, which were later swept by the ruling coalition.
The scheme has three components -- loan waiver, one-time settlement (OTS) and incentive benefits -- and there will be no landholding criterion for eligibility, it said.
Under the waiver component, farmers whose total outstanding short-term crop loans, including principal and interest, are up to Rs 2 lakh will be eligible for a complete debt relief. The loans must have been disbursed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, remained overdue as of September 30, 2025, and unpaid till March 31, 2026.
The farmers whose dues exceed Rs 2 lakh will be covered under the OTS component. Such borrowers will have to clear the amount above Rs 2 lakh, after which they will become eligible for a waiver of Rs 2 lakh. They have been given time until March 31, 2027, to deposit their share of the outstanding amount.
The cabinet hailed the waiver plan as a major relief measure for farmers. Ministers applauded the move during the meeting and termed it a historic decision benefiting lakhs of cultivators.
Office-bearers of political parties, government employees, income-tax payers and officers and staffers of cooperative institutions drawing salaries exceeding Rs 25,000 per month have been excluded from the scheme's ambit.
Under the incentive benefit component, farmers who have repaid crop loans within the prescribed period in at least two of the three financial years from 2022-23 to 2024-25 will receive an incentive grant of up to Rs 50,000.
Eligible beneficiaries who have taken out crop loans in the current financial year will also have to repay those loans on time.
In another provision, farmers with overdue amounts exceeding Rs 50,000 can avail of a grant of Rs 50,000 after paying the balance amount above that threshold, enabling them to become debt-free.
They, too, have been given time until March 31, 2027, to make the required payment.
The beneficiaries of the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjamukti Yojana, 2019 (another farm credit waiver plan), who subsequently defaulted on fresh crop loans, would be eligible for loan relief of up to Rs 50,000, subject to certain conditions.
Implementation of the latest farm loan waiver scheme will be monitored by a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary. A separate panel headed by the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) will negotiate with nationalised, private and regional rural banks regarding settlement of non-performing agricultural loans and determination of concessions to be extended by lenders.
The scheme will cover loans availed from nationalised banks, private banks, regional rural banks, district central cooperative banks and primary agricultural credit societies. Aadhaar authentication and registration on the AgriStack platform will be mandatory for beneficiaries, while a dedicated digital portal will be developed for implementation of the scheme.
The Opposition Congress said the loan waiver should not remain merely an announcement as the past implementation of such schemes created doubts about the government's commitment towards tillers.
Around 80 lakh women were found ineligible months after the roll-out of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, and the government's assertion that 56 lakh farmers would benefit from loan waiver should be viewed cautiously, the party said.
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The government should provide a blanket debt relief to all farmers, it demanded.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said a farm loan waiver scheme was implemented without any fanfare by then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who headed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government from November 2019 to June 2022.
"The assurances to give a farm loan waiver after that were hollow. The expectation is that this money will reach the accounts of farmers and there is no need to put banners regarding this," said Aaditya Thackeray.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto also demanded a blanket loan waiver for farmers.
Farmer leader Raju Shetti, who heads the Swabhimani Shetkari Paksh, said the government had promised a full loan waiver, but has capped the amount only to Rs 2 lakh.
He said the timeline set for loan waiver is September 2025, but the state faced unseasonal rains even after that. Even the mango farmers in Konkan have faced losses and they should also get relief.
Shiv Sena MLC Bacchu Kadu thanked Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde for the scheme, but added that the cap of Rs 2 lakh should have been enhanced and those who have paid loan instalments regularly should be given an incentive of Rs 1 lakh.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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