After Ladki Bahin, SC/ST sub-plan funds to be used again to pay farmers

Under the ‘Namo Shetkari Maha Sanman Nidhi’ (NSMSN), it will pay ₹6,000 to SC and ST farmers, and is expected to save over ₹1,000 crores from the general budget provisions

MUMBAI: Under financial strain on account of doling out various freebies, the Mahayuti government, in order to ease the pressure on general budgetary provisions, has decided to once more use funds from the sub-plan for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST). Under the ‘Namo Shetkari Maha Sanman Nidhi’ (NSMSN), it will pay ₹6,000 to SC and ST farmers, and is expected to save over ₹1,000 crores from the general budget provisions.

After Ladki Bahin, SC/ST sub-plan funds to be used again to pay farmers.

The Mahayuti government launched the NSMSN scheme in October 2023, six months before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, to pay an additional ₹6,000 per annum to farmers who were already receiving this amount from the Centre’s PM-Kisan scheme. The funds came from the state government’s general budgetary allocations, irrespective of the recipients’ community.

Last year, a row erupted after the Mahayuti decided to use funds from the SC/ST sub-plan to pay Ladki Bahin instalments to SC/ST women but regardless of this, the government has repeated the action. The two separate orders regarding the opening of a special head for NSMSM expenditure through the SC and ST sub-plans were issued by the agriculture department, three days after the state budget was presented on March 6.

It is mandatory for the state government to allocate funds for the SC and ST sub-plans based on their population, which is 13% and 7% respectively. The SC sub-plan provision for 2025-26 was ₹22,568 crore while the budget has proposed ₹23,150 crore for the upcoming financial year. For the ST sub-plan, the provision was ₹21,495 crore in 2025-26 and the proposed provision for 2026-27 is ₹21,723 crore.

In Maharashtra, the number of eligible farmers for the PM Kisan and NSMSM schemes is around 9,10,000. The expenditure on NSMSM for 2025-26 was around ₹6,060 crore and was covered through general budgetary provisions for agriculture department-related schemes. For FY 2026-27, the proposed NSMSM outlay is around ₹4,780 crore.

With the new order from the government, the estimated expenditure on SC farmers is around ₹690 crore while the expenditure on ST farmers is estimated at ₹570 crore. “This financial management will save around ₹1,200 crore of the current year’s ₹6,060-crore expenditure from the general budgetary provisions, which the state government can use for other works or schemes,” said an official.

Speaking to the media after presenting the budget, CM Fadnavis had explained that provisions for schemes like Ladki Bahin could be made from the SC/ ST sub-plans. “According to government policy and practice for years, allocations for personal benefits can be made from the SC and ST sub-plans,” corroborated an official from the agriculture department.

When contacted, social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat said that he had not looked into the details but the government’s decision would prevail. “Funds will be allocated from the SC sub-plan,” he said. “When asked about his opposition to a similar decision last year for the Ladki Bahin payout, Shirsat said, “It’s government policy now.”

Calls and messages to tribal development minister Ashok Uike went unanswered.