Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has cleared the release of ₹4,000 crore for its farm loan waiver scheme, opening the way for money to move into the accounts of eligible borrowers.
A government resolution issued by the Cooperation Department says ₹6,551 crore was available under the scheme's budget head, of which ₹4,000 crore has now been approved. The proposal came from the Commissioner and Registrar of Cooperative Societies on October 21.
The scheme — Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmers' Loan Waiver Scheme, 2026 — was approved by the state Cabinet on June 2. For 2026-27 the government provided ₹20,552 crore through supplementary demands for grants. Of that, ₹14,001 crore had already been placed with the commissioner through earlier resolutions. Friday's release takes the total to ₹18,001 crore, leaving ₹2,551 crore of the annual provision still to be made available.
The GR is silent on the two things farmers will ask about: how many borrowers will be covered, and what the individual waiver limit is. It confines itself to the budget provision, the release, and the proposal behind it.
The release lands in a week when the Cabinet, on Tuesday, approved ₹5,000 each as advance drought relief for 1.5 crore farmers, with a provision of ₹7,500 crore. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed officials to deposit the amount in their bank accounts, and said banks must not deduct anything from the relief payments.
Fadnavis has also said the state has asked the Reserve Bank of India to stop microfinance companies from forcible recovery from farmers.
Cooperative credit societies, which handle a large share of rural lending in the state, will use the fresh funds to process eligible accounts and credit the benefit. The scheme has been a political flashpoint, with the Opposition pressing the government on rural distress and pending dues.