Sharad Pawar welcomes Maharashtra govt's decision to relax farm loan waiver conditions

Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday welcomed the Maharashtra government's decision to ease the eligibility criteria for its farm loan waiver scheme, saying it would prevent lakhs of farmers from being excluded. In a statement, Pawar said the government had announced the loan waiver in view of recurring natural calamities and the sharp fall in agricultural produce prices. He said the scheme initially capped the benefit for farmers who had availed of the 2019 loan waiver at Rs 50,000 and also required those making regular repayment to clear their crop loans for 2025-26 and 2026-27 to qualify for the benefit. "These conditions would have deprived lakhs of farmers of the scheme's benefits," Pawar said. He thanked the Devendra Fadnavis government for withdrawing the two conditions, saying the decision reflected the sentiments of farmers across Maharashtra. Pawar also congratulated farmers' organisations, political parties and their leaders for campaigning against the conditions. He made a special mention of NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and his colleagues, crediting them with playing a key role in the effort to secure the changes. Fadnavis on Friday announced a major relaxation in the state's latest farm loan waiver scheme, saying farmers covered under the 2019 Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farm Loan Waiver Scheme would now be eligible for a waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh instead of the earlier Rs 50,000 incentive. Replying to the Opposition's last week motion in the legislative assembly, Fadnavis also announced changes in the incentive scheme, scrapping the condition that farmers must repay crop loans during the 2026-27 financial year to qualify for benefits. Instead, farmers who repaid their loans in any two previous years would be eligible, the CM said in the House. Fadnavis said the decision was taken after legislators from the ruling Mahayuti urged the government to remove the Rs 50,000 cap applicable under the 2019 loan waiver scheme. PTI MR BNM