Mumbai: Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Tuesday criticised the Maharashtra government’s budget in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, alleging that it fails to address key issues such as farm loan waiver, rural development and social welfare.
Accuses Ruling Mahayuti of Ignoring Farmers' Needs
Participating in the discussion on the state budget, Patil accused the ruling Mahayuti government of not fulfilling promises made to farmers during the election campaign.
He said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced a farm loan waiver of up to Rs 5 lakh, but so far only Rs 2 lakh of loans have been waived, leaving many farmers, particularly in the Vidarbha region, struggling with heavy debt.
Patil also reminded the House that the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in which the NCP (SP) was a partner, had implemented a major farm loan waiver scheme in 2019. He claimed that while the Union government waived loans worth around14 lakh crore for businessmen, the state government was unwilling to waive the entire debt burden of farmers. “The government has money to help businessmen but not farmers,” Patil alleged.
Flags Contradiction in Closing Schools While Taking Loans
The legislator also criticised what he described as the government’s contradictory approach—closing under-populated Marathi-medium schools in remote areas to save funds while simultaneously taking large loans for infrastructure projects.
He pointed out that Maharashtra’s debt has risen sharply from around Rs 4 lakh crore to over Rs 11 lakh crore in the past decade, and questioned how the state aims to achieve its goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy when per capita income has not increased proportionately.
Patil further claimed that the budget was infrastructure-heavy and not inclusive, adding that allocations for sectors such as agriculture, dairy development and social welfare were inadequate. Schemes like Matsya Sampada Yojana and welfare measures for dairy farmers were, according to him, underfunded.
He also questioned the utilisation of funds, stating that the government had brought supplementary demands of Rs 1.5 lakh crore last year in addition to the budget, but much of that amount remained unutilised.
Raising another concern, Patil said the government had not outlined any clear strategy to address challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in the future economy.
Shiv Sena MLA Nilesh Rane Flags State's Fiscal Position
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLA Nilesh Rane also raised concerns about the state’s fiscal position during the budget discussion. He said that although Maharashtra’s GSDP has reached a record Rs 51 lakh crore, the state must create strong independent revenue sources instead of relying heavily on GST compensation and grants from the Centre.
He also questioned why Maharashtra ranks fifth in per capita income despite having the highest GDP in the country, pointing out that states like Karnataka and Telangana, with lower GDP, are ahead in terms of per capita income.
Rane further criticised the distribution of central funds, claiming that Maharashtra contributes nearly Rs 11 lakh crore in taxes to the Centre but receives only about Rs 3.09 lakh crore in return.
He also urged the government to focus more seriously on the MSME sector, which employs around 2.52 crore people in the state, and called for concrete economic reforms to strengthen small and medium enterprises.
Warning against excessive borrowing, Rane said that relying only on loans without structural economic reforms could lead to financial stress in the future.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
