MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday released the first symbolic list of 553 farmers whose farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh have been waived. The remaining names of farmers eligible for the loan waiver will be released soon.
The Maharashtra government has announced a Rs 36,585 crore farm loan waiver that will benefit over 56 lakh farmers. The state government also announced that the 12 lakh farmers who benefited under the 2019 farm loan waiver scheme have been included in the current loan waiver list. These 12 lakh farmers will also get a farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh, compared with the earlier Rs 50,000.
The state government announced the names of 553 farmers eligible for the loan waiver through a representative method. The first list includes 58 farmers from Amravati District Bank, 133 from Latur District Bank, 16 from Nagpur District Bank, 85 from Pune District Bank, 38 from Satara District Bank and 182 from Thane District Bank. Loans worth Rs 2,99,37,540 belonging to these farmers have been waived.
Maharashtra Cooperative Minister Babasaheb Patil said the government had uploaded the list of 553 farmers whose crop loans had been waived.
Minister Babasaheb Patil said the process of identifying beneficiary farmers and distributing the benefits is being carried out in a transparent, simple and planned manner. He said the scheme is not just about loan waivers but also a sincere effort by the state government to reduce the financial burden on farmers, make them eligible for fresh farm loans and help them resume farming.
"Earlier, if the loan was waived, the farmers would not get the crop loan again. But we changed this and extended the benefits of farm loan waiver to more 12 lakh farmers. This will provide relief to lakhs of farmers in the state. The state government has made a substantial provision of Rs 36,585 crore for this decision. Through this, 56 lakh farmers will get the benefit of loan waiver," he added.
Farmers who want to avail themselves of the loan waiver benefits should visit a government centre and complete Aadhaar authentication. Once the Aadhaar authentication is completed, their response will be received by the government, following which the further process will be implemented.