Maharashtra To Release ₹13,336-Crore Farm Loan Waiver Benefits To 16.96 Lakh Farmers Within Two Days

The Maharashtra government will begin disbursing farm loan waiver benefits to 16.96 lakh eligible farmers under the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme within the next two days, while 1.40 lakh applicants have been declared ineligible following scrutiny, Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil announced on Wednesday.

Second Beneficiary List to Follow After Initial Disbursement

The minister said the first phase of financial assistance, amounting to Rs 13,336 crore, will be directly credited to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries. A second list of beneficiaries will be released after the initial disbursement process is completed.

Of the 1.40 lakh farmers excluded from the scheme, 94,000 were found to be income tax payers after verification by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, while 46,000 others were disqualified due to technical and administrative discrepancies, Patil said.

Scheme Covers Crop Loans Taken Between 2019 and 2025

The loan waiver covers short-term crop loans availed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, with overdue loans outstanding up to September 30, 2025, and March 31, 2026 qualifying under the scheme. The government had initially prepared a list of 32 lakh farmers using data from district central cooperative banks, commercial banks and rural banks.

According to the minister, 7.03 lakh beneficiaries are associated with district central cooperative banks, while 9.93 lakh hold accounts with commercial and nationalised banks. So far, 11.46 lakh farmers have completed Aadhaar-based identity verification through nearly 32,000 Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendras across Maharashtra.

Farmers Asked to Complete Formalities for Timely Payments

Patil urged eligible farmers to complete Aadhaar authentication, link their Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts and finish the required formalities to ensure timely receipt of the loan waiver amount. He added that beneficiary lists have been displayed at Gram Panchayat offices, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and bank branches, while banks have uploaded the data to the MahaIT portal.

The minister also said he had instructed banks not to levy interest on eligible farmers' loan accounts from April 1, 2026, and noted that a list of around 13 lakh farmers, earlier returned to banks for corrections, is expected to be processed shortly.

Highlighting the broader objective of the scheme, Patil said the initiative is intended not only to provide debt relief but also to strengthen farmers' financial stability, encourage repayment discipline and support the rural economy.

He further informed that, except for the State Bank of India and Union Bank of India, participating nationalised and rural banks have accepted the government's proposed settlement formula for non-performing asset (NPA) accounts under the scheme.

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