Mumbai, Jul 28 (PTI) With some farmers alleging discrepancies in the beneficiary lists of the Maharashtra government’s crop loan waiver scheme, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne on Tuesday assured that no cultivator with a loan of up to Rs 2 lakh would have to pay anything, and errors would be rectified.
The minister’s assurance came after a few farmers in Dharashiv and Hingoli districts claimed that mismatched figures across bank records, beneficiary lists, and the e-KYC portal had left them stranded without full waiver benefits under the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar scheme.
Addressing reporters here, Bharne clarified that errors would be rectified promptly, reiterating the state’s goal to cover 56 lakh farmers under the Rs 40,000 crore scheme.
Earlier this month, the state cabinet approved significant changes to the loan waiver scheme, removing key eligibility conditions, including the previous Rs 50,000 upper limit applicable for the beneficiaries of the 2019 waiver.
The change would enable these farmers to avail loan waiver benefits of up to Rs 2 lakh under the new scheme.
Farmers from parts of Dharashiv and Hingoli districts claimed that the loan waiver figures reflected in the beneficiary lists, e-KYC portal and bank records did not match, leaving them uncertain about the actual relief they would receive.
Jeevan Vishnu Patil, a cultivator from Gandhora village in Dharashiv, said that while he has an outstanding crop loan of Rs 1.54 lakh with the Bank of Maharashtra, the loan waiver list shows a benefit of only Rs 94,427.
Patil claimed bank officials informed him that the remaining Rs 60,000 would have to be paid before the waiver could be processed.
“With expenses towards my children’s education and sowing yet to begin because of the rains, I cannot arrange that money. This is not the relief we were promised,” he said, urging the government to correct the beneficiary list.
Similar concerns were raised in Hingoli district, where farmer Pramod Gajare of Kadoli village said different figures were being shown in the loan waiver list, the e-KYC portal and the bank records.
According to Gajare, the beneficiary list showed a waiver of Rs 61,000, the e-KYC portal reflected Rs 1.31 lakh, while the bank informed him that his outstanding crop loan stood at Rs 82,000.
He said the discrepancies had left him confused about the actual amount which would be waived and if he should complete the e-KYC process before the figures were clarified.
Reacting to the complaints, Bharane said farmers with outstanding crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh will not have to pay any amount.
“If the crop loan outstanding amount is up to Rs 2 lakh, then the entire amount will be waived. Farmers will not have to pay any amount. If there are some errors, we will correct them,” he said.
The minister said two beneficiary lists have already been released and more will follow as farmers complete the e-KYC process.
He confirmed that one farmer, whose name did not appear in the released list, had died by suicide recently, though there were other reasons behind the death.
“The names of 533 farmers appeared in the first list, while the second list covered 16.95 lakh. As farmers complete their e-KYC, their names will be reflected in the lists to be released in the coming days,” Bharane said.
The state aims to cover 56 lakh farmers under the scheme and will bear an estimated expenditure of Rs 40,000 crore, he said.
Bharane also said sowing activities have been completed on 84 per cent of agricultural land in the state, while some farmers are yet to sow due to unfavourable conditions.
On complaints relating to crop insurance, the minister said he had written to the Union agriculture minister after receiving representations alleging that insurance companies were asking farmers who had borrowed from cooperative or nationalised banks to forgo other benefits, and requested that such practices be stopped.
The Opposition Congress has already expressed its reservations about the loan waiver scheme.
Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar had earlier described the scheme as “eyewash”, noting that the supplementary demands tabled in the legislature allocated only Rs 20,000 crore for the scheme.
He had questioned how the BJP-led Mahayuti government plans to bridge the remaining gap of around Rs 16,000 crore. PTI ND ARU
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