Rs340b farm loan waiver announced

Maharashtra government’s move will benefit 8.9m farmers reeling under debts

The Maharashtra government yesterday announced a loan waiver package of Rs340 billion that will provide relief to 8.9 million farmers in the state.

After a cabinet meeting cleared the loan waiver package, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told media persons here that debts of up to Rs150,000 per farmer will be written off, which means loans of at least four million farmers will be completely waived.

Those who paid back their loan amount regularly will be given a Rs25,000 bonus or 25 per cent loan return benefit — whichever is lower, he added.

Earlier this month, the BJPled state government had agreed to waive farmers’ loans after widespread protests by farmers in various parts of the state due to a fall in prices of farm produce.

Fadnavis called the loan waiver decision a “historic step” and named the package after Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji.

“Farmers could not repay loans due to losses they incurred following low rains and hailstorms. So we have taken this historic decision to help farmers. No other state has given such a large waiver,” he said.

He admitted that the state would have to face a huge financial burden due to the exercise. “It is true that the government will have to bear additional burden. We will cut expenses of other departments. We will have to take some hard decisions,” he said.

The decision was taken after a meeting between the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and other leaders in the opposition.

All ministers and MLAs will give a month’s salary to support the loan waiver. The government will also implement a onetime settlement (OTS) scheme for farmers with a debt of over Rs150,000.