Maharashtra CM Fadnavis announces Rs 2 lakh waiver for Mahatma Phule scheme farmers

3 min readMumbaiJul 10, 2026 09:07 PM IST

The Maharashtra government has announced a farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers covered under the Mahatma Phule Shetkari Loan Waiver Scheme, following demands from legislators. (File Photo)

Acknowledging the growing insistence of all-party legislators, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Friday that farmers under the previous Mahatma Phule Shetkari Loan waiver scheme would be given a loan waiver of Rs two lakh instead of earlier announced Rs 50,000.

“Maharashtra is the only state to have implemented agricultural loan waivers three times consecutively. There was a fear that the banking system might collapse if loans were not repaid in hope of a waiver,” he said, while replying to the final week resolution brought in by the opposition.

Fadnavis also announced the cancellation of the condition requiring loan repayment in the 2026-27 financial year under the incentive scheme, stating that those who have repaid their loans in any of the previous two years would be eligible for the scheme’s benefits.

The CM claimed that the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Loan Waiver Scheme is the largest among all the loan waiver schemes implemented so far. Fadnavis stated that while a loan waiver is not a permanent solution, the scheme was announced to ensure that farmers do not have to turn to moneylenders. “We had given our word to the farmers before the assembly elections. We have now won all the elections, so it is not the case that these schemes were introduced just to win elections. This scheme includes loan waivers, a one-time settlement, and an incentive plan. The government provides Rs 25,000 crore annually for electricity bill waivers for farmers, which is paid to Mahavitaran. If one looks at the agricultural department’s planning budget, Rs 95,000 crore are given to farmers in the form of various schemes and subsidies.”

He further noted that the scheme was designed after holding meetings with all banks, and it is expected to benefit 56 lakh farmers, dismissing the opposition’s allegation that the loan waiver would only amount to Rs 12 to 13 thousand crore as baseless.

The Mahatma Jyotirao Phule farm loan waiver scheme covered short-term and restructured loans, which meant that farmers with loans exceeding Rs 2 lakh did not benefit from it. Although a committee led by Pravin Pardeshi had recommended not to provide a waiver to farmers under this scheme, the government still decided to provide a benefit of up to 50,000 rupees. However, following the insistence of all-party MLAs and a delegation of Mahayuti MLAs led by BJP MLA Randhir Savarkar, the government decided to increase the benefit to two lakh rupees for these farmers.

‘Will not remain silent until the truth is revealed’

Chief Minister Fadnavis informed that the investigation into Ajit Pawar’s death is being conducted by the AAIB. “The CBI has refused to take up the investigation until the AAIB report is submitted. The CID has investigated Sumit Kapoor’s accounts, and nothing suspicious was found. We have been in talks with the central government, and we expect the final report of the AAIB to be out before January. Assistance from foreign agencies is being sought, and further investigation will be carried out once the report is received. We will not remain silent until the truth of this matter is revealed,” he added.