Maharashtra Cabinet Approves Farm Loan Waiver of Up to Rs 2 Lakh

Maharashtra Government Approves Farm Loan Waiver Scheme

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a scheme to provide farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh, fulfilling a major pre-poll promise of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. The scheme, 'Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana', is expected to benefit around 56 lakh farmers, sources said.

The decision to approve the scheme was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The scheme has three components -- loan waiver, one-time settlement (OTS) and incentive benefits -- and there will be no landholding criterion for eligibility.

Key Features of the Scheme

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Farmers whose total outstanding short-term crop loans, including principal and interest, are up to Rs 2 lakh will be eligible for a complete debt relief. The loans must have been disbursed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, remained overdue as of September 30, 2025, and unpaid till March 31, 2026.

The farmers whose dues exceed Rs 2 lakh will be covered under the OTS component. Such borrowers will have to clear the amount above Rs 2 lakh, after which they will become eligible for a waiver of Rs 2 lakh. They have been given time until March 31, 2027, to deposit their share of the outstanding amount.

Under the incentive benefit component, farmers who have repaid crop loans within the prescribed period in at least two of the three financial years from 2022-23 to 2024-25 will receive an incentive grant of up to Rs 50,000. Eligible beneficiaries who have taken out crop loans in the current financial year will also have to repay those loans on time.

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Implementation of the latest farm loan waiver scheme will be monitored by a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary. A separate panel headed by the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) will negotiate with nationalised, private and regional rural banks regarding settlement of non-performing agricultural loans and determination of concessions to be extended by lenders.

The scheme will cover loans availed from nationalised banks, private banks, regional rural banks, district central cooperative banks and primary agricultural credit societies. Aadhaar authentication and registration on the AgriStack platform will be mandatory for beneficiaries, while a dedicated digital portal will be developed for implementation of the scheme.

The Opposition Congress said the loan waiver should not remain merely an announcement as the past implementation of such schemes created doubts about the government's commitment towards tillers. The party demanded a blanket debt relief to all farmers.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray stated that a farm loan waiver scheme was implemented without any fanfare by then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who headed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government from November 2019 to June 2022. "The assurances to give a farm loan waiver after that were hollow. The expectation is that this money will reach the accounts of farmers and there is no need to put banners regarding this," said Aaditya Thackeray.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto also demanded a blanket loan waiver for farmers. Farmer leader Raju Shetti, who heads the Swabhimani Shetkari Paksh, said the government had promised a full loan waiver, but has capped the amount only to Rs 2 lakh.