Maharashtra Releases ₹13,336-Crore Farm Loan Waiver To 16.96 Lakh Farmers

The Maharashtra government will start disbursing farm loan waiver benefits to 16.96 lakh eligible farmers under the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme within the next two days.

The scheme will provide financial assistance of ₹13,336 crore to the eligible beneficiaries, which will be directly credited to their bank accounts.

Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil announced that a second list of beneficiaries will be released after the initial disbursement process is completed.

Out of the total applicants, 1.40 lakh farmers have been declared ineligible following scrutiny. The reasons for ineligibility include 94,000 farmers being income tax payers and 46,000 others having technical and administrative discrepancies.

The loan waiver scheme covers short-term crop loans availed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, with overdue loans outstanding up to September 30, 2025, and March 31, 2026 qualifying under the scheme.

The government had initially prepared a list of 32 lakh farmers using data from district central cooperative banks, commercial banks, and rural banks.

According to the minister, 7.03 lakh beneficiaries are associated with district central cooperative banks, while 9.93 lakh hold accounts with commercial and nationalised banks.

So far, 11.46 lakh farmers have completed Aadhaar-based identity verification through nearly 32,000 Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendras across Maharashtra.

The minister urged eligible farmers to complete Aadhaar authentication, link their Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts, and finish the required formalities to ensure timely receipt of the loan waiver amount.

He also instructed banks not to levy interest on eligible farmers' loan accounts from April 1, 2026.

The broader objective of the scheme is to provide debt relief, strengthen farmers' financial stability, encourage repayment discipline, and support the rural economy.

Except for the State Bank of India and Union Bank of India, participating nationalised and rural banks have accepted the government's proposed settlement formula for non-performing asset (NPA) accounts under the scheme.

The loan waiver scheme is expected to bring relief to the farmers in the state and support the rural economy.

The Maharashtra government's initiative is a significant step towards providing debt relief to farmers and strengthening their financial stability.

The scheme's success will depend on the timely disbursement of the loan waiver benefits and the completion of the required formalities by the eligible farmers.

The government's efforts to support the rural economy and provide debt relief to farmers are commendable, and the scheme is expected to have a positive impact on the state's agriculture sector.