Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said the state government will take a final decision on the proposed farm loan waiver by June 30, 2026, reported news agency ANI.
Speaking at an event organised by the Chatrapati Sugar Cooperative Factory in Baramati, Pawar said the government had honoured its manifesto promise but added that such waivers would not be repeated frequently. The state deputy Minister emphasised the need for financial discipline among farmers.
“There was also a discussion about the loan waiver. A loan waiver will happen, but it will be decided on 30 June 2026, because after the new financial year begins, the government will come under a very heavy additional burden. All of us have discussed this… In a late-night meeting, I, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne, Bachchu Kadu and other leaders were present. Since we had promised this in our manifesto, it is being done, but it will not happen again and again. You also need to maintain financial discipline. In our PDCC Bank, those who complete their loan repayment are given loans at zero interest, so your situation is better compared to others. This should also be kept in mind. We do not want to do politics on this,” Pawar said, reported ANI.
Ajit Pawar`s comment came after former MLA Bachchu Kadu led a massive protest for farm loan waiver and blocked a highway in Nagpur, forcing the Maharashtra government to announce the loan waiver plan and set up a committee to discuss ways to pull farmers out of a debt trap.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that farmers` loans in the state would be waived by June 30, 2026, based on a report to be submitted by a committee formed by the government.CM Fadnavis stated that this step is being taken by his government in accordance with the promise made in the poll manifesto during the previous election.
“Our Maharashtra government stated in its manifesto that it would waive farmers` loans. We have made a decision on this today. We have formed a committee to prepare a report on how to waive loans and the criteria for doing so. It will review this and submit the report to us by April 1st. After that, within three months, that is before June 30th, we will waive farmers` loans based on that report,” the Chief Minister told reporters on Thursday, as per ANI.
The Mahayuti had made a pre-poll promise during the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 of giving a loan waiver to farmers.
(With inputs from ANI)
