Maharashtra Raises Farm Loan Waiver Benefit to Rs 2 Lakh for Previously Benefitted Farmers
The Maharashtra government has further relaxed eligibility conditions for the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farm loan waiver scheme. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Friday that farmers who had previously benefitted under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana will now receive a loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh, instead of the earlier limit of Rs 50,000.
Under the scheme, announced in June, farmers who had availed benefits from the 2019 Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana and subsequently fell into debt were eligible for an incentive of up to Rs 50,000, provided they had taken crop loans between 2022-23 and 2024-25 and repaid them on time. Friday's decision raises that benefit to a full loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh.
The Mahatma Jyotirao Phule farm loan waiver scheme covered short-term and restructured loans, under which many farmers with loans exceeding Rs 2 lakh had received only partial relief. A committee led by Pravin Pardeshi had recommended that farmers who already availed benefits under that scheme should not receive another waiver under the newly announced Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar scheme. The government initially decided to extend them a benefit of up to Rs 50,000. However, following insistence from all-party MLAs and a delegation of Mahayuti MLAs led by BJP MLA Randhir Savarkar, the government raised the benefit to Rs 2 lakh.
This relaxation comes after Opposition parties argued that several eligibility conditions would exclude a large number of distressed farmers. On June 8, The Indian Express reported that the government's own Cabinet note stated the restrictions were among reasons expected expenditure would be lower than the projected outlay of Rs 36,585 crore.
Following criticism, Agriculture Minister Dattatraya Bharne said the government was willing to modify norms to ensure more farmers benefited. A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Fadnavis was formed to review the scheme. Friday's announcement marks the first major relaxation of a key condition.
“Maharashtra is the only state to have implemented agricultural loan waivers three times consecutively. There was a fear that the banking system might collapse if loans were not repaid in hope of a waiver,” Fadnavis said while replying to the final week resolution brought by the Opposition. He claimed the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar loan waiver scheme is the largest among all such schemes implemented so far. Fadnavis stated that while a loan waiver is not a permanent solution, the scheme was announced to ensure farmers do not turn to moneylenders.
“We had given our word to the farmers before the assembly elections. We have now won all the elections, so it is not the case that these schemes were introduced just to win elections. This scheme includes loan waivers, a one-time settlement, and an incentive plan. The government provides Rs 25,000 crore annually for electricity bill waivers for farmers, which is paid to Mahavitaran. If one looks at the agricultural department’s planning budget, Rs 95,000 crore are given to farmers in the form of various schemes and subsidies,” he added.
He further noted that the scheme was designed after meetings with all banks and is expected to benefit 56 lakh farmers, dismissing the Opposition’s allegation that the loan waiver would only amount to Rs 12 to 13 thousand crore as baseless.
