Sharad Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis meet on farm loan waiver

Mumbai city news: The state government had on Monday said it would waive loans of up to Rs 1 lakh for distressed farmers, but set some conditions that are being opposed by farmers’ outfits.

The Maharashtra government is dealing with the loan waiver issue cautiously. After its talks with farmers’ outfits floundered over eligibility conditions, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on the issue in New Delhi on Friday. Fadnavis reportedly apprised Pawar about the government’s plans and the issues it is facing in implementing the loan waiver. The meeting is part of Fadnavis government’s outreach on the issue with farmers’ outfits and political parties.

(Ht File)

Read: Loan waiver in Maharashtra: Farmers owe Rs8,840 crore to district cooperative banks

The state government had on Monday said it would waive loans of up to Rs 1 lakh for distressed farmers, but set some conditions that are being opposed by farmers’ outfits. The government has clarified that it is not possible to waive all farm loans considering its weak finances and that only those who had taken loans before June 30, 2016, would be eligible.

The farmers outfits want the conditions revised by July 25 or they will restart their agitation.

Chandrakant Patil said they met Sharad Pawar to seek his guidance on the loan waiver issue. “The state government wants to implement waiver very soon,” Patil told reporters after the meet.

Read: Maharashtra farmers oppose new norms imposed by government for interim loans