Maharashtra Government Defers Loan Waiver Announcement Due To Election Guidelines
Loan waiver decision ready but announcement delayed due to polls.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the state’s proposed crop loan waiver has reached its final stage, but the official announcement has been deferred due to Election Commission guidelines in view of the ongoing Maharashtra Legislative Council elections scheduled for June 18.
Speaking after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Fadnavis clarified that while the proposal has been approved at the administrative level and placed before the Cabinet, formal public disclosure cannot be made at this stage. He said the Election Commission has permitted procedural processing of the scheme but has restricted any public announcement until the completion of the election cycle, with counting scheduled for June 22.
The Chief Minister said the government will announce the decision after the electoral process concludes, underscoring that the matter is now in its final stages of approval. He was accompanied by ministers Girish Mahajan and Shivendraraje Bhosale during the briefing, where he confirmed that the proposal had been actively reviewed within the Cabinet.
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The development comes amid rising political and farmer pressure over loan waivers in the state. Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne had earlier indicated that a decision would be finalised within 10 days, while farmer organisations continue to demand comprehensive debt relief citing agrarian distress, rising input costs, and concerns over inadequate Minimum Support Price (MSP) support.
The proposed scheme, named the Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar Farmers’ Debt Waiver Scheme, is expected to provide loan waiver benefits of up to ₹2 lakh for eligible farmers, along with an additional incentive subsidy of ₹50,000 for those who regularly repay crop loans. According to officials, the scheme is designed to cover farmers with overdue crop loans as of September 30, 2025.
Government data suggests that over 52 lakh farmers in the state are currently burdened with unpaid crop loans worth thousands of crores. A committee led by Pravin Pardeshi has already submitted recommendations aimed at providing long-term relief to farmers, and the Cooperation Department has prepared the final proposal based on those findings. Officials said the scheme also aims to address growing concerns over drought risk following forecasts of deficient rainfall this year.
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