Now, Sena slams Maharashtra government for glitches in farmer loan waiver disbursal

Saamana editorial said it’s doubtful whether the disbursal process would meet deadline

Even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended his government’s actions and blamed banks for the delays in farmer loan waiver disbursal, the Shiv Sena, its ally in the state, attacked the government, saying it goofed up owing to the BJP’s haste to take full credit for the waiver.

An editorial in ‘Saamana’ questioned why the government has found so many irregularities after it is said to have scrutinised the farmers’ application forms. (HT File)

The BJP-led government initiated the disbursal process across Maharashtra on October 18, but the process was suspended after it came to light that several beneficiary loan accounts had the same Aadhaar number. It was resumed on Friday.

An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ questioned why the government has found so many irregularities after it is said to have scrutinised the application forms. “Once the online applications were accepted at all levels, how did they find mistakes? This means that the government just organised events on Diwali eve to take credit for the waiver,” the editorial said.

Despite opting to do the process online and handing out waiver certificates to farmers across the state, not one farmer’s loan has been written off so far, the editorial said.

The state government has set a deadline of November 25 to complete disbursal for 75% of the eligible farmers.

Of late, the Sena, one of the oldest allies of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has taken on the role of the Opposition, criticising the government on a range of issues. The relation between the two partners have been strained after the Sena was relegated to junior partner in its home turf.