41 lakh farmers have received loan waiver disbursal, says Maharashtra government

On Wednesday, it disbursed Rs 5,580 crore to clear loans of 16.98 lakh farmers; total amount disbursed has touched Rs 19,537 cr, says CM

The Maharashtra government said it has waived the loans of 41 lakh farmers in the state so far. On Wednesday, it disbursed Rs 5,580 crore to clear the loans of 16.98 lakh farmers. The amount disbursed till date has touched Rs 19,537 crore, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the farmer loan waiver package in June this year. (HT File)

While Rs 14,864 crore has been disbursed to waive off loans of farmers found eligible by the state government, another Rs 4,673 crore has been given under the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme, which has benefited 6,05,505 farmers.

Following an unprecedented strike by farmers in June, the Maharashtra government announced a Rs 34,022 crore loan waiver package, called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana, which was expected to cover 89 lakh farmers. The state imposed a waiver cap of Rs 1.5 lakh for each farmer family. For farmers who have been paying their loans regularly, it declared a cash-back incentive of up to Rs 25,000.

After Fadnavis announced the package, the government asked farmers to submit online application forms to avail of the waiver, and received 56.59 lakh applications, which would cover 77.29 lakh accounts. A budgetary provision of Rs 20,000 crore was also made for implementing the scheme. After the verification process, 69 lakh farmers were found eligible.

Fadnavis said the loan waiver process will continue until the accounts of eligible farmers are settled.