Farm Loan Waiver Row: Opposition Stages Protest outside Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan
MUMBAI: Ahead of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, Opposition parties on Monday staged a protest on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan, demanding a complete farm loan waiver without restrictive technical conditions.
Legislators from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), including leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP), raised slogans against the Devendra Fadnavis-led government, alleging that the recently announced farm loan waiver scheme would exclude many distressed farmers due to its eligibility criteria.
The Opposition maintained that farmers across the state continue to face severe financial distress and urged the government to implement a blanket loan waiver with minimal procedural hurdles. “The farmers should get a complete loan waiver. The government should implement it without imposing technical conditions,” protesting legislators said.
Earlier this month, the Maharashtra cabinet approved the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana, a Rs 36,585-crore farm loan waiver package aimed at benefiting nearly 56 lakh cultivators. Under the scheme, eligible farmers can receive a waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh on short-term crop loans, subject to specified conditions relating to the loan period and repayment status.
