Mumbai, June 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Wednesday claimed that the loan waiver scheme announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti government under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis is a complete facade.
He alleged that, through wordplay and the imposition of complex rules, terms, and conditions, more than 50 per cent of farmers have been deliberately excluded from the scheme.
Sapkal termed this a cruel mockery of the farming community and demanded that the government completely clear the 7/12 land records of all farmers in the state.
Speaking to reporters, Sapkal said the waiver applies only to farmers who received loans between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, and whose accounts have become overdue.
He pointed out that many farmers had taken loans prior to this period, and since those accounts are overdue, they are ineligible to receive new crop loans. Consequently, all such farmers have been deprived of the benefits of this scheme.
According to estimates, Sapkal said the number of excluded farmers is more than double the number of those benefiting from the announced waiver.
“Therefore, the benefit of this loan waiver must be extended to all overdue farmers,” he remarked.
He further stated that farmers who previously benefited from the Mahatma Jotiba Phule Shetkari Samman loan waiver scheme introduced by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will not receive a complete waiver of their current defaults, but will only receive a maximum benefit of Rs 50,000.
Sapkal alleged that the Fadnavis government has restricted the scheme solely to crop loans and restructured loans. He noted that many farmers have taken loans to dig wells, lay pipelines, and purchase cattle, which remain unpaid, and that all such farmers will be excluded.
“The BJP government is inherently anti-farmer, but is beating the drum of having granted a loan waiver. In reality, the Mahayuti’s sole intention is to deprive the maximum number of farmers of this benefit,” he said.
He added that farmers who regularly repay their loans have also been abandoned. To qualify for an incentive benefit, regular payees must have availed of a crop loan in any two of the three financial years -- 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 -- and repaid it within the stipulated time.
Additionally, if these farmers have taken crop loans in 2025-26 and 2026-27, they must repay them on time. Only then will they be eligible for a meagre incentive benefit of Rs 50,000.
Sapkal recalled that during its previous tenure, the Fadnavis government had similarly introduced a loan waiver scheme after much “study,” only to trap millions of farmers in a web of rules and deny them benefits.
He compared this to the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, under which he claimed 80 lakh women were deprived of benefits by twisting eligibility criteria.
Source: IANS
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