Maharashtra govt mulls partial loan waiver for farmers

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, March 26

The Maharashtra government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is considering a partial loan waiver for farmers in an effort to break the logjam that has paralysed the state Assembly.

According to state government sources, officials of the state finance department are preparing a scheme under which around 40 per cent of farmers' loans from the co-operative banks that are pending for payment may be waived off. Co-operative banks account for much of the farmers' loans across Maharashtra though nationalised banks too have been providing loans to farmers under priority sector lending programmes.

“We need the state and central governments and the Reserve Bank of India to get involved if pending farm loans need to be completely waived off,” a state government official said.

It is not clear how the cash-strapped Maharashtra government will raise the funds for waiving off farm loans. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state Assembly last week that 1.36 crore farmers have availed of loans worth Rs 1.14 lakh crore. Out of these debts worth Rs 31,057 crore have gone bad. Fadnavis said waiving off the bad debts would set a bad precedent, as it would in future discourage all farmers from paying off their loans.

Opposition Congress and NCP, which have disrupted Assembly proceedings, have announced that they would take out 'Sangharsh Yatras' across the state to corner the Fadnavis government. The Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling alliance, has also been demanding waiver of loans both inside and outside the assembly apart from joining the opposition parties in disrupting the proceedings.

Fadnavis has had meetings with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in order to get the Central government's assistance in the loan waiver programme.