Now Reading: Maharashtra releases Rs 5,027 crore loan waiver to 6.2 lakh farmers
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Maharashtra releases Rs 5,027 crore loan waiver to 6.2 lakh farmers
The Maharashtra government has begun disbursing the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar loan waiver, releasing Rs 5,027 crore directly into the bank accounts of 6.2 lakh farmers on Friday. The scheme, a promise from…
The Story in Brief
The Maharashtra government has begun disbursing the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar loan waiver, releasing Rs 5,027 crore directly into the bank accounts of 6.2 lakh farmers on Friday. The scheme, a promise from the 2024 assembly election manifesto, covers short-term crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh taken between April 2019 and March 2025. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said 80% of such rollouts proceed quickly, but remaining cases face delays due to duplicate accounts or errors in names and numbers. Of the 18-19 lakh accounts initially identified, around 12 lakh were sent back for verification. The Times of India reports the scheme targets an estimated 54.6 lakh farmers, while The Hindu notes that Aadhaar authentication of 12.10 lakh loan accounts had been completed by August 6.
The Indian Opinion
Critics are already calling the waiver slow or token, but the government faces a genuinely tangled task: reconciling millions of land records, bank accounts, and deceased farmers' estates. What matters now is pace. Only 6.2 of 54.6 lakh farmers have received money so far. The real test will be how many of the 12 lakh accounts sent back for re-verification are cleared in the next fortnight, and whether the second phase for incentive benefits arrives on time.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
