After farm loan waiver, Maharashtra announces Rs 48,000 crore electricity dues write off for farmers

3 min readUpdated: Jul 15, 2026 07:07 PM IST

Maharashtra has announced electricity dues write off for farmers. (File Photo)

Nearly a month after announcing a farm loan waiver expected to cost over Rs 36,500 crore, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday unveiled another major relief package for farmers, announcing a one-time waiver of Rs 48,000 crore in pending electricity dues.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement at a function organised by the BJP in Mumbai to felicitate him for the recently announced farm loan waiver. Declaring that his government was committed to easing the burden on farmers, Fadnavis said all pending electricity bills of farmers using agricultural pumps of up to 7 HP would be written off.

“Since our government came to power we have given free electricity to farmers using agriculture pumps up to seven HP. For this, we make an annual budgetary allocation of Rs 25,000 crore to compensate power companies. But old pending bills continue to remain in every farmer’s name and they are asked to clear these dues when they seek a new electricity connection. To ensure farmers are not subjected to such pending bills, I announce a complete electricity waiver,” Fadnavis said.

The decision effectively clears the backlog of unpaid electricity dues accumulated over the years while continuing the state’s existing policy of providing free electricity to agricultural pump consumers through an annual subsidy. With this scheme, the government will not only bear farmers’ future electricity bills but will also absorb the entire stock of old dues, estimated at Rs 48,000 crore.

This is not the first time the state has announced relief on farm electricity bills. In the 2024 25 Budget, the then Mahayuti government ahead of the elections had introduced free electricity for agricultural pump connections up to 7.5 HP, benefiting around 44 lakh farmers, while promising to take over the cost of their electricity consumption through a budgetary subsidy. The government had also then indicated that pending electricity dues of such consumers would also be addressed. With Wednesday’s announcement, the government has now decided to write off these legacy dues completely.

The announcement adds another large financial commitment for the state in welfare bills, coming close on the heels of the expanded Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farm Loan Waiver Scheme. The Cabinet on July 10 approved changes to the scheme by removing the earlier Rs 50,000 cap for beneficiaries of the 2019 loan waiver programme. The revised scheme is expected to benefit 56 lakh farmers at an estimated cost of Rs 36,585 crore, with Fadnavis indicating that the outlay could eventually increase to around Rs 42,000 crore after the expanded eligibility criteria.

The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the state’s flagship cash assistance scheme for women, has already cost the exchequer more than Rs 60,000 crore since its launch. The scheme currently covers over 1.5 crore women, down from a peak of around 2.43 crore after a verification drive identified more than 92 lakh ineligible beneficiaries. Payments made to beneficiaries later found to be ineligible are estimated at nearly Rs 14,000 crore.

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“The government is making efforts to increase revenue through industry and the services sector. As our revenue grows, we will be able to make greater allocations for the agriculture sector,” Fadnavis said.