Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil on Wednesday launched the state's much-publicised agricultural loan waiver scheme by releasing the first list of 553 eligible farmers.
The scheme is expected to benefit around 56 lakh farmers across the state, with agricultural loans of up to ₹2 lakh set to be waived. The state government has allocated ₹37,000 crore for this scheme.
The 56 lakh beneficiaries include around 12 lakh farmers who have availed benefits under the Mahatma Phule loan waiver scheme. Overall, the provision for the agricultural loan waiver programme is estimated at nearly ₹41,000 crore.
Speaking at the launch, Patil said the government's aim was not merely to waive agricultural loans but to reduce farmers' financial burden and make them eligible for fresh agricultural credit. He mentioned that beneficiaries of previous loan waiver schemes often faced difficulties in securing new crop loans from banks.
Earlier, Agriculture Minister Dattatreya Bharne had announced that the first list of eligible farmers would be released on July 22, coinciding with the birthdays of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The government had originally planned to publish the list of all eligible farmers on July 5. However, it was delayed after the state decided to exclude income tax-paying farmers from the scheme. Accordingly, data was sourced from IT department about farmers who were paying income tax.
