Mumbai, June 2 (IANS) The Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved the Rs 36,585 crore Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farm loan waiver scheme, which will benefit 55.72 lakh farmers in the state.

The Chief Minister confirmed that the cabinet has cleared the loan waiver scheme, but added that the official announcement will not be made today due to the Election Commission’s guidelines amid the ongoing elections to 17 state council seats slated for June 18.

The CM had proposed the scheme during the presentation of the annual budget for 2026–27 to fulfil the promise made in the run-up to the 2024 assembly elections.

According to government sources, the scheme will apply to crop loans taken out between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025. Eligible farmers with outstanding short-term crop loans taken during this period, which remained unpaid up to September 30, 2025 (and outstanding as of March 31, 2026), will receive relief covering principal and interest up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh per individual farmer, irrespective of landholding size.

Medium-term restructured crop loans originating from short-term loans during the same tenure that had accumulated defaults by September 30, 2025, are also included under the Rs 2 lakh write-off umbrella.

For farmers whose total outstanding principal and interest exceed Rs 2 lakh, a One-Time Settlement (OTS) protocol has been formalised. Under this clause, the individual must clear the excess balance over Rs 2 lakh with the lending bank, after which the state government will remit its Rs 2 lakh contribution.

Farmers who successfully repaid their short-term crop loans taken in any two out of three financial years, FY 2022–23, FY 2023–24, and FY 2024–25, before the designated deadline of June 30 of the respective year, will receive an incentive bonus of up to Rs 50,000.

For compliance cases where the total loan component is less than Rs 50,000, the benefit matched will equal the actual principal and interest repaid, subject to a minimum baseline of Rs 5,000. Farmers who repay their loans regularly will receive an incentive grant of Rs 50,000. Those with farm loans above Rs 2 lakh will have to pay the additional amount, after which the government will waive off the remaining balance.

Farmers who benefited under the previous Mahatma Jyotirao Phule farm loan waiver scheme and have arrears up to Rs 50,000 will also be eligible.

Sources within the Cooperative Department said that restructured loans will also be eligible under the scheme. However, salaried individuals with a monthly income above Rs 25,000, income tax payers, retired individuals with income above Rs 25,000, elected representatives (former and current), and government employees will not be eligible.

The Maharashtra government had appointed a committee headed by MITRA CEO Praveen Pardeshi to determine the final number of beneficiaries and the financial burden on the state. While the report has been submitted, it has not been made public. The scheme has now been approved by the cabinet.

A committee headed by the Chief Secretary, comprising MITRA CEO, administrative heads of Finance, Agriculture, Cooperation, IT, and the Cooperation Commissioner, will oversee implementation.

–IANS

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