Maharashtra Farm Loan Waiver: Rs 5,086 Cr to 6.36 Lakh Farmers

Mumbai, Aug 24 (PTI) The Maharashtra government on Monday released the second instalment of its farm loan write-off scheme, providing a total waiver of Rs 5,086 crore to 6,36,036 eligible cultivators.

The assistance under the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana (Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme) was disbursed online in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai, an official statement said.

The disbursal of the second instalment of Rs 5,086 crore to 6,36,036 eligible farmers came nearly three weeks after the first tranche was released under the scheme in early August.

The agricultural debt waiver programme, for which more than Rs 36,000 crore has been earmarked by the Mahayuti government, was approved by the state cabinet in early June when it was projected to cover over 56 lakh farmers.

With the latest instalment, 12,58,243 farmers have so far benefited from loan waivers amounting to Rs 10,115 crore under the scheme, Fadnavis said.


The process of disbursing benefits to eligible farmers is continuing and the number of beneficiaries is being updated periodically, he said, adding Aadhaar authentication of 13.70 lakh loan accounts has been completed so far.

The second instalment was distributed to beneficiaries across six revenue divisions, the release said.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division accounted for the largest share, with 3,02,273 farmers receiving Rs 2,284 crore. In the Amravati division, 1,45,808 farmers received benefits worth Rs 1,208 crore, while 84,813 farmers in the Nashik division got Rs 756 crore, it said.

In the Pune division, 49,224 farmers received Rs 417 crore, while 44,864 cultivators in the Nagpur division got Rs 366 crore. In the Konkan division, 9,054 farmers received benefits amounting to Rs 54 crore.

The release said the entire loan disbursal process was being implemented transparently and monitored under the supervision of the Chief Minister.

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil, Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal and senior officials of the Chief Minister's Office and Cooperation Department were present on the occasion.